The Acolyte
by Elite FanFic
Summary: Sick of Zutara/Kataang? Tired of reading about preteen relationships and dilemmas? Want to read something more realistic, detailed, and interesting, and designed for the more mature young adult reader? Detailed forward in Chapter 1. Please R&R!
1. The Captain

**Letter to the Reader  
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Dear Reader,

You've made it this far, thanks! In the small blurb I'm allowed by , I mentioned that this fic is designed for the young adult reader. True to my word, it is. I've rated it M for various reasons, but the most obvious is the amount of graphic violence in this novel. If that bothers you, then I suggest you to turn away from this fic. But if you are tired of dreaming in the A:TLA universe without facing the realities and consequences of a century long war…. then I encourage you to continue down to the first chapter: **The Captain** immediately.

This fiction is based on canon events found in the cartoon series. It is technically an AU because of some important history and mythology I have created to supplement the A:TLA storyline. I have also added characters and/or portrayed existing characters in a more realistic and (more often than not) cynical manner. The Gaang will remain relatively unchanged; I will warn you that the Gaang hardly makes prominent appearances until the conclusion of the novel (which, as of 6/26/11, is still in editing).

This fic revolves around two characters I have created. While I realize this may put many readers off initially, I promise that neither character is your run-of-the-mill Mary Sue/Marty Sue nor will my primary OCs be subject to godmoding (ridiculous abilities/invincibility). You have my word.

The storyline of the fic is based off a concept I dreamed up nearly two years ago. I loved the idea of the Avatar mastering all four elements, but I wanted to see more characters with additional bending abilities. I created the concept of the four Acolytes, each a master of two of the elements, to aid the Avatar/ control the Avatar. While this idea may not seem very unique, the implications of it are astounding. The Acolytes are not like the Avatar; they have no idea that they carry the gift until they have aged into their 20's. The Acolytes are also not bound to the duty of saving the world; as you find out in this fic, the Acolytes can easily be corrupted by the war torn world around them…

If you have any questions/concerns/disagreements about my fic while reading it, please leave a review. Every bit of praise and criticism improves my spirits and writing!

I sincerely hope you enjoy my fic.

Elite Fanfic

* * *

><p><strong>The Captain<strong>

The damp, dim confines of the pirate ship were morose at best. The half rotten supporting beams of the ships skeleton creaked and groaned with every swell of the rolling ocean and the hull of the ship itself leaked seawater like the eyes of a crying child. In the middle of the cramped under-deck, an old, corroded cage was secured amongst a host of random assortments: crates, sacks, tools, clothes. In the cage, a young woman, no older than 20 years old, lay limp, seemingly unconscious. Her clothes had nearly been all stripped off; only simple undergarments remained. Her dark, wavy brown hair looked distressed. Dried blood was smeared across parts of her hair in fashion that looked like someone had painted her hair with dark red paint. She was fit and tone and her skin shown with a tan normally associated with one of the two Water Tribes. Even while unconscious, her facial features were sharp and defined as if she was somehow fighting an internal battle within her mind. For a moment, she stirred, but was resisted by her restraints. The trapdoor to the under-deck suddenly swung open and Kynthia's emerald eyes flashed open.

Instantly, Kynthia could feel them revolving around her cell, much like water swirling around an obstruction. It was impossible for her to see them; her vision was clouded with fresh blood, clothing the ceiling at which she could only stare with untouchable crimson drapes. Kynthia tried to roll over on her side, but it was impossible. Squinting through the blood and feeling the spiking pain on her wrists, Kynthia could follow the rusty chains of the irons on her wrists up to the bars of her cage. Her ankles were likewise bloodied and bond in the same fashion. Completely immobilized, spread eagle underneath the deck of the commandeered Northern Water Tribe patrol boat and as the pirate crew argued over which "piece of her" each pirate wanted for their own pleasure, Kynthia felt foolish for not eliminating them earlier.

"I don't think I've ever had one this young before…" a pirate sneered, slowly walking around the cage. Kynthia knew he was staring at her scantly clothed midsection without even seeing his eyes.

"I want to touch her hair… smell her hair… I want it!" a twitchy voice imitated from a dark corner in the hull. Kynthia felt revolted.

"Back off, Taft, she's mine."

Kynthia had at this point summoned enough tears to temporary free her vision. She swiveled her head around and immediately felt disgusted at the sight of the pirates huddled around her cage like animals.

_Barbarians… low lifes…_

"I want everyone topside immediately. Prepare to make camp and Taft, take her ashore."

"Yes, Captain!"

"Aye, Cap'tn."

"Y-yes… sir."

The shuffle of feet filled the room as the pirates quickly attended to their orders. As the last footstep disappeared above the hatch door to the upper deck, silence filled Kynthia's ears. She could still feel the Captain's presence, but couldn't turn her head and see him.

"I know exactly who you are. These… simpletons have no idea of your worth or appeal," the Captain calmly said. He slowly made his way to the cell door and unlocked it with a click. Kynthia tried to make out his face; the blinding sun through the floor boards silhouetted the man against the dark, damp, and bleak surroundings of the under-deck.

"I have a proposition for you."

The Captain's voice was cunning and as smooth as silk. Kynthia gut clenched, unconsciously sensing the man's intentions.

"All you would need to do to earn your freedom," the Captain whispered, now kneeling next to Kynthia's head, "is pleasure one man instead of many…" The Captain's breath, smelling of rotten fish and spoiled meat, fell like a blanket over Kynthia's face. She felt the man's slowly touch her inner thigh and start to move upwards.

_Relax!_

Kynthia mastered her immediate reaction to pull away and thrash. Calmly and slyly smiling, she connected her deep green eyes with the Captain's yellowed ones and gave him a provocative eyebrow raise. The Captain leaned in, only a couple of inches from Kynthia's face, and said exactly what she expected him to say.

"So, my princess, what is your decision?"

Kynthia quickly reared back and slammed her forehead into the Captain's nose. Through her own pain and disorientation, she could feel the bones and cartridge in the Captain's nose fracture and rip. The Captain reared away, spraying warm blood over Kynthia's face and prisoner clothing. The hatch flew open at the Captain's roar and Kynthia could see, to her delight, a look of shock and astonishment on the faces of the few crew members crammed on the stairwell leading out of the under-deck.

"My people will make sure all of you will be dead before the sun sets on the horizon!" Kynthia yelled with a sneer. She saw the crew look at her, fearful, and quickly back to their bleeding Captain.

"BACK TO YOUR POSTS!" the Captain roared, sopping up his blood with the sleeve of his ragged jacket. Kynthia heard the crew scamper as she kept her eyes directly on the Captain. The hatch shut with a boom. There was an uneasy silence as the Captain furiously gazed down upon Kynthia's grinning face. With a roar, the Captain connected the inside of his foot with Kynthia's skull, sending the young woman back into unconsciousness. Swearing under his breath, the Captain climbed the stairs out of the under-deck, blood still dripping from his face.


	2. The Ranger

_Kynthia could hear voices on the other side of the door at the end of the torch-lit hallway. She slowly crept up on it, not wanting to alert anyone to her presence. The door was slightly ajar; and blade of light cut its way through the relative darkness of the hallway._

_ "Send her…."_

_ "I… I can't. She's my daughter. How could I?"_

_ "You must. It is the only chance for our people."_

_ "Our people," Kynthia could hear her father ask, "Both Tribes?"_

_ "Only ours, General. We will assimilate the target via your daughter. He will not be able to resist her…"_

_ "And then what?"_

_ "We, the Northern Water Tribe, will become far more powerful than you would imagine."_

_ Kynthia leaned in slightly to hear more, but something pushed her from behind. She crashed through the door and instantly the two men at the table were at their feet. Kynthia looked up to find red torches everywhere, fire licked up the sides of the stone room. Two silhouettes, one of her father and another man, towered over here, weapons drawn. As frightened as she was, Kynthia felt anger surge inside of her._

_ "How rotten are you to send your daughter to the Southern Water Tribe to assimilate them? Are you sick?"_

_ "You understand nothing, you stupid girl."_

_ The faceless man swiftly lifted Kynthia from the ground and held her shirt in his fist. _

_ "Your father gave the order and you will listen to him!"_

_ Kynthia's anger spiked. She pulled the water from her belt and crystallized it around her free forearm, forming a razor sharp bladed gauntlet of ice. In a flash of blue and blood, the faceless man released his grip on Kynthia and fell to the stone floor, blood seeping through the fingers around his own neck. Kynthia only had a moment to shockingly gaze upon the damage she caused before another monstrous force slammed into her back. The floor disappeared and Kynthia felt herself falling… and falling…_

Kynthia awoke with a jolt as her body slammed into the hot sand. She turned her head to spit out the mouth full of drying sand in her mouth as her hands were bond behind her.

"Get up, you filthy wrench!"

Kynthia gritted her teeth in pain as a foot connected with the side of her abdomen. Her eyes watering, she rose, coughing up blood onto her dirtied lines. She could see the camp the minions to the Captain had set up through her blurry vision. A huge fire roared on the beach between the two separate camps. The Captain's camp was easily distinguished against the rough, tattered tents of the crew's camp. Kynthia squinted up at the dying sun, rushing to set behind a high cliff that overlooked the beach and the camps. She tried to glance over her shoulder toward the ship.

"Keep moving forward!" a burly man yelled, shoving her hard in the back.

Kynthia stumbled forward, nearly falling into the roaring fire and fell to the sand in front of the Captain's tent. Looking up, Kynthia found herself staring into the yellowed eyes of the Captain.

"In here with me, princess," he hissed, grabbing the back of her clothes and throwing her head first into the tent. Kynthia again slammed into the sand, but clumsy scrambled to her knees in an effort to defend herself. The Captain had anticipated this however; Kynthia felt her head forced against the bed that had been set up. Stars and nausea clouded her vision and senses; she didn't even feel the Captain lift her onto the bed and start ripping her clothing off.

Kynthia felt the adrenaline spike through and she instantly regained focus. Quickly drawing her knees up in front of her, Kynthia powerfully mule-kicked the Captain off of her, sending him tumbling into a stack of crates. Knowing she only had seconds, Kynthia bolted off the bed and flew through the tent door. The sun had set behind the cliff, but Kynthia did not need to see the ocean: she could feel it.

"GET HER! DON'T LET HERE GET TO THE WATER!" the Captain roared, pointing from the mouth of the tent.

Kynthia sprinted toward the edge of the beach, but ran right into one of the larger pirates. She fell back against the beach hard; she grasped for breath as the pirates circled and laughed at her. The Captain, furious at this point, marched over to the circle of pirates and swiftly kicked Kynthia hard in the torso. The pirates all became silent at this point. Only the sound of the crackling fire and the hissing ocean pierced the nightly silence.

"You have fooled me for the last time, princess."

The Captain drew his flintlock pistol and pressed it against her forehead, right below her hairline.

"Time to die."

_Not like this… please…_

The Captain drew the hammer back. Kynthia felt a tear run down her sand-caked face as she slowly closed her eyes.

_Someone… please…_

"That bounty is mine, captain."

Kynthia's eyes flew open at this new, younger voice. A hooded young man, clad in a midnight black outfit, stood confidently behind the Captain. A cynically curved dagger wrapped around the neck of the Captain, whose yellowish eyes darted from side to side in complete and total fear. The surrounding pirates stood frozen, some with their hands on their pistols. Kynthia could not see the hooded man's eyes, but she was certain they were absorbing as much information as possible.

Suddenly, the young man slit the Captain's throat with disturbing ease. Kynthia watched from the ground as the hooded man caught the Captain's falling body with one arm and with the other hand fired the Captain's pistol into one of the larger crewmembers. Gunfire and smoke erupted around Kynthia and the man disappeared. The Captain's body fell to the sand with a muffled thump, riddled with holes from the pistol fire. The scene was silent less the ocean and fire.

"Where is h-"

"Shut up! Stay quiet!" another pirate snapped at the first.

Instantly, an arrow caught the second pirate in the throat, all but silencing him. He stumbled for a few feet, clutching his bleeding neck and gurgling as the blood cometh. The two other pirates stood back to back near Kynthia; she noticed one of the pirate's knees shaking tremendously.

"Hey! Over here!" the young voice called playfully.

Kynthia and the pirates both swung around to the face the dark figure. Kynthia see the lower part of his face from under his hood. A small grin ran across the young man's face.

"C'mon, fight me!"

One of the pirates, seemingly furious over the death of his captain, sprinted off toward the hooded man, sword in hand. The hooded man instantly took an Earthbender's stance, strong and resilient. With a simple stomp and kick, the man lifted a chunk of stone into the air and bended it toward the infuriated pirate. Kynthia closed her eyes and looked away; the spray of warm blood was the only confirmation she wanted of the pirate's death. She felt the hooded man confidently walk toward her.

"Don't…don't kill me!" the last pirate said whimpered, falling to the ground next to Kynthia. His body was shaking violently in fear.

"Get away from her, you filthy scum," the hooded man said with a spike of anger, harshly kicking the pirate clear out of the way. The pirate flew like a rag doll some five feet away from the two of them. Kynthia looked up at her savior.

"Thank y-" she began to say before she felt stone cuffs lock tight around her wrists. The hooded man waved his arm with a yawn and stone shackles bended around her ankles as well, binding her completely.

"Wait, what? What are you doing? Let me go!" Kynthia yelled, halfway between euphoria and disbelieve. She struggled against the stone bindings and tried to bend the water around her, but it was at no avail. Eventually, Kynthia grew tired in her hopeless struggle and collapsed completely upon the sand, exhausted. The hooded man kneeled down next to her face and gently raised her chin so their eyes connected. Aside from his stupid grin, Kynthia noticed the man's dark grey eyes piercing the darkness created by his enveloping, wide jet-black hood. She could tell the young man was very pleased with himself.

"Are you done now?" the young Earthbender asked, "I mean, I have no problem waiting all night for you on this beach." He stood and casually looked over to the unconscious pirate, who was barely stirring.

"Who are you? What are you doing with me? Please, let me go!" Kynthia pressed, feeling completely silly arguing with her face in the sand.

The hooded man ignored her for a moment as he walked beside his victims. Kynthia noticed him kneel down to a few of the bodies and withdraw his arrows with the wave of his hand. To her amazement, this man had crafted his arrows completely out of stone. Kynthia had never heard of this, but it suddenly dawned on her how ingenious of an idea it was. The young Earthbender didn't have to waste Chi sending the arrow through its flight; the bow provided that power. Kynthia suspected the hooded man would guide the arrow through its flight, resulting in deadly accuracy. She, for a moment, was amazed at the man's cunning.

"Who am I? They," the hooded man gave the bodies a head nod, "call me the Ranger or the Night Ranger or the Night Thief or whatever. Personally, they can call me anything they want except for my actual name." Kynthia wanted to wipe that stupid grin off his face.

_He must feel he is on top of the world right now! I can't wait for the Water Navy to track him down and get me out of this mess!_

"But you have a special place in my heart, miss," he said jokingly, wiping the blood off of his glassy, black arrows, "and you can call me Aidan. I know, it's a huge deal, please don't faint, you'll be harder to carry that way."

"Carry me?"

"You're sharp, you know that?"

Kynthia anger levels were close to boiling over at this point.

"Where are you taking m-"

The hooded man swiftly dug his arm underneath Kynthia's midsection and lifted her up on one shoulder. He hopped her up once and began to walk down the moonlit beach. Kynthia could only stare down at the armor that lined the hooded man's back and nothing more.

"Where are you taking me, Aidan?" Kynthia yelled over his shoulder.

"Back home!" Aidan replied cheerfully.


	3. The Gift and the Trust

Kynthia leaned tiredly up against a great, mossy tree. It was mid afternoon and the summer sun threatened to cook any unsheltered creature on Earth alive. Her wrists were sore from the constant weight of the stone shackles Aidan had to this point refused to remove, but at least her legs had been freed. Aidan joked that he was tired of carrying such a heavy weight.

The ancient forest around her teemed with life, something of a luxury compared to the frozen Northern tundra that Kynthia was so accustomed to. The chirps and growls emanating from the forest made her cringe and fear, but she felt relatively safe in the camp Aidan had prepared. Kynthia had watched as the Earthbender had braced himself, rose walls, stamped out deformities on the ground and bended makeshift shelters. It was quite impressive, especially from a bender of his age. Kynthia was herself skilled in her art, but Aidan seemed to be leaps and bounds ahead of her in his element.

_Almost too far ahead… Something about him doesn't seem quite right. _

Now pondering on it, Kynthia realized she knew very little about the Ranger that had captured her. It had been a week since Aidan had slain the pirates on the beach and saved her from the Captain, but the Ranger avoided speaking about any personal details pertaining to his life thus far. In a way, Kynthia couldn't blame him. He was an outlaw, a drifter, and she was certain that people were chasing Aidan every waking hour of the day. Aidan insisted they move only during the night and make camp in secluded and isolated parts of the countryside, never close to a village or town. Often, he would pause during their travels northward and ask Kynthia to kneel and remain silent. Obeying, Kynthia would watch him as he gazed out across the countryside, his sharp steel eyes surveying the scenery and his Earthbending senses attuned to any vibrations caused by a cynical enemy.

"I see you haven't run away yet," Aidan said causally to Kynthia, entering their small, walled fort silently with a large canvas sack slung over his back. He was dressed in his black armor and tunic from head to toe, but his hood was lowered and his weapons stowed. Aidan's short hair shone like polished shards of obsidian, jet-black and naturally spiked. His skin was naturally tan and weathered; small pale silt-like scars streaked the brow of his right eye. Kynthia had jumped when the Ranger made his unusually quiet entrance and Aidan had noticed with a grin.

"Scared you?"

"Earthbending through that wall usually isn't a silent operation," Kynthia retorted.

"Maybe for some benders, but I've learned how to make it… stealthy," Aidan said with a smile as he threw the canvas sack at Kynthia's feet, "Here, I bought you something today."

Kynthia raised an eyebrow. She noticed the quick change of subject.

"Bought or stole? You can keep it if you stole it. I'm no thief like you."

Aidan rolled his eyes.

"I bought it, trust me. I don't steal from the common people," Aidan explained, "Plus, I'm sure you're going to want it regardless of how I managed to get a hold of it."

Kynthia looked at the sack at her feet and then back at Aidan.

"And how exactly am I supposed to open this?" she asked with a raised brow and slight smile. It was nice to make her capture feel stupid for a change.

Aidan raised his hand and lifted the cuffs of stone around Kynthia's wrist. She felt them momentary leave her body, but suddenly they clamped down harder than before. Kynthia looked at Aidan with a questioning look.

"What gives?"

"Hold on. I know how skilled you are. I can't take any chances; I need your bounty," he said quietly, quickly ducking into his stone shelter. He returned momentarily with a large bladder of water. Kynthia's stomach fell slightly. She knew that bladder was in the shelter. She had been trying to bend it all afternoon while Aidan was away. Aidan slowly raised his arms out at his side and powerfully brought them together over his head, bending a large, rounded shield of stone over the bladder. Kynthia immediately lost any connection with the bladder.

"There. And don't tell me you didn't know that wasn't there," he said. Before Kynthia could spit out a retort, Aidan waved his hand and she felt the stone crumble into dust around her wrists. She rolled her wrists and rubbed the pink skin worn away by the stone. Kynthia winced as she moved her shoulders forward for the first time in days; her joints cracked and popped like the elders in the Tribe.

"You're welcome. Now open the bag!" Aidan pressed excitedly. Kynthia couldn't help but smile at her capturer. He reminded her of a small child giving a gift at the once-a-year Bluemoon Festival in the Northern Water Tribe.

Kynthia reached deep into the sack. Her hands immediately felt fur and soft cloth as she withdrew the light blue Water Tribe outfit. Kynthia instantly recognized it as a modified summer version of the normal Northern Water Tribe outfit. The usual parka was missing and the sleeves on the upper portion of the outfit had been trimmed away entirely. The usual long dress had also been modified; it was now a knee length skirt hemmed at an angle with fur lining the bottom. Kynthia also found elastic, lionseal skin shorts dyed pitch black and a matching bra made of silk at the bottom of the bag. Kynthia looked up at Aidan, who was positively beaming at his gift.

"So do you like it?" he asked anxiously. Kynthia was very confused. It was hard to imagine the bounty hunter in front of her acting like a normal person, especially after witnessing the events on the beach. Kynthia quickly forced a smile.

"It's… it's great, thank you," Kynthia replied gingerly with what she thought as her most cheesy smile ever. Regardless, Aidan was satisfied.

"You're welcome," he said with a smile that just screamed that Aidan was absolutely content with himself. Kynthia guessed it was quite the endeavor for the Ranger to purchase clothes for a woman he knew nearly nothing about.

"I'll let you change while I'm away. I'm leaving you un-cuffed," he said and then threw a small sheath at Kynthia, "and here's a weapon. If anyone enters the camp, or if you hear them beyond these walls, hide, Kynthia. I hope I've impressed on you that I will get you to the North safely and quickly. Those other bounty hunters aren't too kind. They don't try to keep their bounty in… presentable condition. Do you understand me?"

The seriousness in his voice and his eyes conveyed that Aidan was putting much trust in Kynthia. But something in his steel, sharp eyes convinced Kynthia that Aidan did indeed have Kynthia's safety and well being in mind.

_He may be an outlaw… but he's not inhuman…_

"I understand. I'll be here when you get back, one way or another."

"I hope so. I'll be back after nightfall with dinner," Aidan said. He slowly turned to leave, but held a gaze with Kynthia for as long as he could. After throwing on his hood and grabbing his bow, Aidan quickly bended through the wall and sprinted off into the surrounding forest, disappearing among the thick and damp foliage.

Kynthia stood there for a moment, looking down at the pile of new clothes and the dagger in her hand. All at once a wave of confusion washed over her. She simply could not get a grip on her capturer, if she even wanted to call him that anymore. She felt he was more of her protector; that somehow he was constantly watching out for her for a reason larger than himself. Things about the mysterious hooded man had continued to pile up inside of Kynthia's sharp and curious mind over the last week. He was only slightly older than her, yet his skills in Earthbending were far greater than she had even heard of. Only very old and very devout Earthbenders ever reached the level Aidan seemed to be at.

In addition to his accelerated Earthbending, Aidan was a superior craftsman. Kynthia, in the very short week that she had been with Aidan, she had noticed all of the amazing things he had made for himself over the years. His obsidian arrows were incredible, truly a new piece of technology that the Earth Kingdom could use to great effect in its armies. Kynthia had also examined Aidan's armor when he carried her that first night. Underneath his dark clothing, pieces of jet-black armor had glistened and bathed in the silver moonlight. Each piece of armor was constructed in the same fashion. Aidan had managed to craft obsidian into small, thumb size hexagons and secure them to silver silk. The hexagons were evenly spaced, close enough to protect against the sharp point of a spear or a bolt of fire, but spread apart enough to allow the armor to flex and breathe. In a funny way, it reminded Kynthia of the scales on the giant serpent rumored to guard Serpent's Pass.

On top of all of this, Kynthia was baffled by the amount of obsidian Aidan carried on him. Fire Nation soldiers often carry obsidian on them, but it is usually small like a necklace or a totem. And before the war, the Fire Nation was the only part of the world that exported this rare material. Kynthia knew it is revered for its incredible properties: it indefinitely holds a razor sharp edge, reflects more damage than it absorbs, and is very lightweight.

_There is absolutely no way he learned all of this within his lifetime… he is far too young. But somehow he did learn it. Considering his… profession, I doubt he learned from a master. I wish I knew more about him!_

Shaking herself out of her frustrating thoughts, Kynthia knelt down and gathered all of the clothes Aidan had purchased for her. Without looking, she quickly turned and walked toward her shelter, but suddenly tripped and fell, sending her new clothes sprawling onto the dusty ground.

"What the-"Kynthia gritted through her teeth, unaware that anything would have been in her way.

Kynthia glanced over her back at what she tripped over. It was a small block of stone like something Aidan would bend upwards. Curious, Kynthia looked around from whence it came.

"Oh…" she said in a small voice, her emerald eyes gazing upon the source of the stone block. Aidan, before he had left into the forest, had silently bent a chunk of stone out of the dome he had created early. Kynthia almost immediately knew that Aidan had moved the block behind for the sole reason for her to trip on and notice it. As she stared at the moved stone, Kynthia began to feel her deep green eyes begin to water.

_Why am I crying?_

She tried to wipe them away quickly as if to prevent anyone from seeing her true reaction to this jester of kindness Aidan had left her. Kynthia herself almost didn't know what was making her feeling this way, or even what kind of feeling was coursing through her emotions right now.

_Get a hold of yourself!_

Once again, Kynthia shook it off, gathered her clothes, and ducked into the shelter to change. All the while, she thought of the curious, hooded young man that dashed through the countryside, undetected and unwanted by any nation, who was probably one of the most extraordinary benders alive.


	4. The Night

Nightfall swiftly and gracefully fell over the surrounding country side like a silk cloth. Kynthia sat on top of the wall Aidan had raised, gazing at the soft pink and purple sky as the sun raced over the horizon. She took it all in; the cool, breezy air, the smell of the damp forest, and the sound of the gently swaying tall grass. It mesmerized her how beautiful the world was in the absence of warring people. After kicking her legs over the wall like a little girl for a while, Kynthia laid down, staring straight up into the emerging stars and the shy full moon. She raised her hand a few times, trying with no avail to touch the glimmering jewels imbedded in the slowly darkening heavens. Kynthia smiled, tracing the constellations that her brothers had showed her many years ago.

In twilight's last moments, Kynthia heard Aidan stumping through the woods back toward their camp. She rolled over on her stomach and watched him drag a large deer into the camp. She noticed he had field dressed it already and it was only minutes before Aidan began carving slabs of meat off for dinner. Kynthia sleepily watched him work for a while, wondering if he even knew she was on the wall. Kynthia's eyelids grew heavy as the summer breeze washed over her skin and the rustle of the grass flooded her ears. The world around her slowly darkened…

_ "I don't understand why you just won't go, Kynthia!"_

_ "I hate the idea of being _exiled_ to the Southern Water Tribe! You make it sound like I'll be an ambassador, but I know exactly what you are doing!"_

_ "And what is that, Kynthia?" her father asked, the creases in his face deepened by the warm torchlight._

_ "You want me to marry someone down there, someone important. I heard you and your… advisors in the main chamber, I know you want me assimilate their power!" she argued, fury building inside of her._

_ "You understand nothing…" her father softly said, turning away from her in his chair._

_ "NO, I UNDERSTAND PERFECTLY!" Kynthia roared, "And it sickens me that my own father, a highly respected general in this Tribe, would even consider doing something like this! How could you?"_

_ Kynthia heaved with every breath, glaring at the back of her father's head. When it was clear he refused to face his daughter, Kynthia boiled over._

_ "I'm leaving. I am going to board the first ship off of this frozen wasteland and leave the Water Nation forever! You are corrupt and senile in your old ag-"_

_ Her father moved with inhuman speed and, in a blur, Kynthia found herself inches from the faceless version of her father. He towered above her and flames licked at his heels. _

_ "YOU WILL NOT SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT. LEAVE," he roared and drawing his sword, "BEFORE I REMOVE YOU FROM MY FAMILY MYSELF!"_

_Then Kynthia found herself running faster than she had in her entire life. She could hear footsteps behind her, chasing her. She had to keep running, keep evading, keep escaping…_

"KYNTHIA!"

Kynthia awoke with a jolt, nearly falling off the wall. The heat and sounds of fire filled her senses and smell of freshly cooked meat made her stomach growl and twist. Her vision was slightly cloudy, but she could make out a blurry Aidan waving at her to come down.

"Let's eat while it's still warm!"

Kynthia quickly dismounted the wall with agility, hopping onto one of the stone structures first and then to the ground. She confidently walked past Aidan with a small grin on her face knowing that she impressed him. He stood there for a moment, halfway dumbstruck.

"Help yourself," he finally said, gesturing to the cooked dear meat, "If it doesn't fit your palate, your Highness, you can send it back to the chef and he'll prepare another more in line with your appetence."

"Those are some big words there, does your head hurt?" Kynthia retorted with a grin.

_I won._

The two of them silently sat for a while, halfway gazing at the stars and halfway eating. Previously, Aidan had laid out some blankets for the two of them to rest on while they ate dinner. After a bit, the crackling and popping of the slowly dying fire was the only sound that filled the camp. Kynthia sat cross-legged on her blanket, loosing herself in the dancing flames of the campfire. She glanced over at Aidan and found him leaning back on one elbow, carelessly bending shapes into the dust at his finger tips.

"What are you doing?" she asked softly. Aidan didn't look up, but a small grin grew across his face.

"Oh, just doodling in the dirt… It's like my Zen; it helps me relax at the end of the day," he said with a yawn, "I suppose you didn't have any trouble while I was away?"

"No," Kynthia replied, gazing up at the stars, "It was a nice change of pace. No pirates. No shackles."

"Well, I got double bonus points today then."

They both softly laughed. Once again, the slow crackling of the fire filled the campsite.

"I saw you didn't touch the water."

Kynthia noticed Aidan had stopped doodling, frozen and waiting for her reply.

"I…I… didn't need it. I felt really… safe here."

In the firelight, Kynthia saw Aidan's grin reappear and his fingers began to move again. A few more moments of silence filled the gap between them. Kynthia leaned back and fell into a laying position, her curious emerald eyes staring up into the heavens. The stars were more than small jewels twinkling in the distance; the heavens had opened up and revealed all of its treasures. A great silver ribbon of stars, running from horizon to horizon, floated peacefully in the sky's great ocean. A shower of bright orange sparks spurred into the sky as the fire shifted.

The silence was broken by Aidan, who had yawned again and sat up. Kynthia causally looked over from the ground to find the Ranger dressing down for the night. He pulled off his dark, hooded over-clothing, his midnight black boots, gloves, and bracers and threw them aside into a pile. Kynthia, now politely looking up into the sky, heard him unsnapping his obsidian armor from around his legs, arms and torso. With a great grunt, Aidan pulled his torso and shoulder armor over his head and threw it into the pile as well. And with this, Kynthia quickly stole a full glance of Aidan's shirtless back.

_Interesting…_

Aside from the lean, attractive muscles lining his weathered back, two tattooed stripes, black and red, ran the length of Aidan's spine. Kynthia could see identical strips on his arms and down the back of his legs. She had never seen nor heard of anything like it. The tattoos were perfectly placed too; the ink was rich and deep and the stripes were evenly placed over all parts of his body. Kynthia reckoned such an operation would have taken years to complete, and certainly could not have been done by Aidan himself.

"Aidan…" she began, but then faded off.

"Hmmm?" he replied, looking over his shoulder and turning around on his blanket, "What's up?"

"I… nothing."

He raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"What's on your mind?"

"What do you think about this War?" she asked, careful not to show that she had hastily changed the subject.

"I think it will be over quickly," Aidan replied, now lying on his blanket as well, "There's a rumor flying around Earth Kingdom taverns that the Avatar has returned…"

"I heard the same thing in the Tribe!" Kynthia said excitedly, "Supposedly, a brother and sister found him incased in a prison of ice in the Southern Water Tribe. From what the letter said, he broke free in a ball of flame and shot off toward the Fire Nation to defeat the Fire Lord!"

"So he just _flew_ away?" Aidan snorted with short laughter and sarcasm, "Sounds like the kind of Avatar this world needs right now. One that just runs away…"

Kynthia noticed his steel eyes narrow and his jaw budge. His comment seemed nothing like his vicarious, upbeat personality.

_Something is bothering him._

"Aidan," she asked softly, "are you okay?"

"I… yeah, I'm fine," he said unconvincingly, then with a change of subject, "Tell me a little about yourself, Kynthia. Why were you on that pirate ship? Why'd you leave the Northern Water Tribe?"

"Do you want a life story or what?" she asked with a lighthearted laugh.

"You can tell me anything you want, Kynthia," he said as if simply just wanting a change of subject.

Nevertheless, Kynthia rolled over on her side to face Aidan. He simply turned his head with an expression on his face that clearly read you-better-tell-me-a-good-story.

"Well, I was born in the Southern Water Tribe while my father was stationed there for a winter. I never really met my mother; I can't even remember her voice or really anything about the South. My father is a general in the Northern Water Tribe's army, so he is always busy handling the logistics of the whole thing. I grew up in the North with my three older brothers. I was much younger than all of them; they had all enlisted in the army before I was ten. My father always seemed to praise my brothers for their medals, commendations, whatever… but he never paid much attention to me. But that's how the North really is: if you are a woman, you are automatically 2nd class…"

"As it should be…" Aidan mumbled with a grin.

"What?"

"Kidding, _kidding_, sorry, continue," Aidan said, smiling. Kynthia stared him down for a moment before going on.

"My brothers helped me though. They taught me how to fight and the importance of being quick and agile. In a way, they trained me for combat," Kynthia said. She paused to draw some water out of the bladder Aidan had stowed away earlier. She gathered it in a ball in front of her. The firelight refracted through it like some huge, morphing lens. Splashes of burnt orange lit up the campsite and Kynthia's tan face.

"I always knew I was a Waterbender… I suspect it came from my mother. The South is notorious for producing female Waterbenders and allowing them to train normally. Of course, I was expected to only use my skills to heal in the North. I hate healing. I can't do it very well at all. In fact, it's one of the few things in Waterbending I've ever struggled with…

One day, my oldest brother took me out onto the tundra. I kept asking him where we were going, but he refused to answer me. He just kept running and I, of course, had to stay with him. Eventually, he stopped, breathing heavily, in front of a small, rounded hole in the ice. I was curious and slid in while my brother recovered. I remember it being so magnificent. A huge cave in the perma-ice that doubled as my Waterbending training ground for years to come… it was the last thing my oldest brother ever showed me. The next day, he and my other brothers climbed aboard a ship that has since disappeared off into the War.

I trained and trained. I wanted to be the best Waterbender that ever lived. I developed my own style, I secretly researched Master Pankku's sessions, and I managed to loot a few scrolls from the library. I wasn't going to let anyone or anybody keep me from using my gift to its fullest…"

Kynthia mindlessly played with the water for a few moments. She wanted to continue, but she was afraid to speak about it. Kynthia was almost positive that she had never spoken about this before to anybody, partly because no one had ever asked. She stalled a little longer, circling the ball of liquid water in her hands. Aidan spoke again before she could continue.

"I suppose you'd like to know a little about me?"

_You have no idea._

"Only if you feel like saying anything," Kynthia replied in a forced nonchalant manner. Aidan, however, was sharper than that.

"Please, Kynthia, I can just tell when you want to know something. You get this odd glisten in your eyes," Aidan said with laugh.

"Anyhow, I can't really say where I'm from or who my parents are. I don't remember a lot about my childhood. I remember being alone… a lot. I was never really wanted in any certain town or village. It always seemed that no one would trust with anything. I've never had an "actual" job or property or anything. In fact, you're probably the first person I've spoken to in over a year.

I've always felt this connection to the Earth. When I was young, I had no idea what it was. I remember getting angry and accidently moving stone or deforming a hill. I didn't even have to try to Earthbend. Most of the time, I just think about raising a wall or forming a gauntlet or throwing stone and it happens. I never really found a need to go through the technique or motions like most benders need. It's almost like I was _born_ with the skills of master," Aidan explained. Kynthia watched his grey eyes gaze into the fire. Flames licked behind his pupils.

"When I was fifteen, the Fire Nation army found me. I had become one of the most notorious thieves in the Fire Nation-"

"You lived in the Fire Nation?" Kynthia asked, amazed that he had escaped the isles alive.

"Of course, I was born there."

An instinctive wave of fear and panic quickly washed over Kynthia, but she retained her composure.

"I think you're the first Fire Nation citizen I've ever talked too."

"I suppose that's amazing because we are usually trying to kill the rest of the world," Aidan said with a sigh. Kynthia nodded in reply.

"The army finally got a hold of me. I had stolen thousands of pounds of obsidian, their most covenanted material, from the Fire Nation Elite and I planned on selling it to the Earth Kingdom military so they could better prepare their soldiers for the War. I was going to make a fortune off of the deal and I was going to buy my way into society. I had dreams of buying property, building a house, courting a woman…

But I was captured on the night of my escape. I had prepared a ship to leave with the last of my goods to the Earth Kingdom, but I was caught on the docks. I was badly beaten that night and my most of my memories are foggy, but I remember them taking me to the capital city. I awoke and heard Fire Nation priests speaking quickly about me. Their whispers hissed like steam through the stone hallways of that accursed prison…"

Aidan stopped for moment, trying word his thoughts into coherent sentences.

"They said something about me being some kind of "Spirit-fed power weapon" and they kept speaking of the Avatar. Of course, this was before anyone knew the Avatar was alive. The excitement in their voices scared me. So I ran," he paused as if his tale was over.

"Wait,"Kynthia said, not wanting the story to end, "how did you escape from the prison?"

"What do you mean?"

"You just _escaped the Fire Nation?_ That's it?"

"Oh, I see," Aidan said with a smile, "The prison they held me in was made of stone. I did my best to quietly bend the earth out of my way and escaped. I guess they didn't know I was an Earthbender living in the Fire Nation. After that, it was simple to find a smuggler to get me to the Earth Kingdom; I have friends in very, very low places."

Kynthia was amazed that Aidan had accomplished the impossible so easily; she had never heard of someone willingly leaving the Fire Nation undetected before, much less escaping from prison beforehand. And here Aidan spoke of his story like it was a small feat of achievement.

"Once I got to the Earth Kingdom, I sold what was left of my obsidian stockpile. With that money, I began doing what I'm doing now: bounty hunting. Other than that, my life's pretty ordinary."

"Aidan," Kynthia scoffed, "I don't think you know what ordinary is."

"Maybe so…" he mumbled, gazing up into the stars now, his eyes flicking from star to star. The full moon had climbed high into the sky now and its silver light reflected out of Aidan's steel eyes like a polished mirror. Kynthia smiled and continued to move her water, watching the slowly dying fire. She felt like she could be easier now; her talks with the bounty hunter beside her had made Kynthia relaxed. Although silly as it seemed, Kynthia felt that Aidan and her now shared something of a bond…

_Truly a curious man…_

"Aidan, I-"

But Kynthia looked over and found his eyes closed. His lean, muscular chest slowly rose and fell like the tides and Kynthia could just barely hear his slow, continuous heartbeat. She reached out and touched gently his tattooed forearm.

"I just wanted to say thank you."

Kynthia rolled over and immediately fell asleep. Aidan silently laid there for a moment, grinning and listening to her breathing, before falling asleep as well. As the clutches of blissful sleep finally closed around Aidan's consciousness, the campfire extinguished unnaturally, as if its fuel source had finally shut off for the night, plunging the campsite into silvery moonlit darkness.


	5. The Flight

"Kynthia, here now!" Aidan shouted, sprinting out of the woods, sticks and leaves stuck haphazardly in his jet-black armor. His bow hung loosely out of his right hand, displaced from its familiar spot over his back, and steel eyes were wide with adrenaline. Kynthia immediately threw down what she was doing and stood up, fear building in her stomach. She had never seen Aidan like this before.

"We need to go, now!" he said quickly, running past her in a flash and ducking into his shelter. He immediately emerged with a small, olive knapsack and threw it over his shoulder. Kynthia could hear the jingle of obsidian shards.

"Grab your water, your things, and we need to run."

Kynthia did as she was told. She quickly bended the sack of water over her own back and grabbed the small dagger Aidan had given her out of her shelter. She looked at Aidan with ready and confident emerald eyes, trying to hide all traces of fear from the Earthbender. But Aidan obviously wasn't paying attention to such things.

"Run faster than you've ever run before. Keep up with me."

Aidan threw up his hood and sprinted through the camp's stone wall, crumbling it to dust. Kynthia followed in suit, her own light blue hood up. She shielded eyes as she leapt through the chaotic dust, blindly following the sprinting midnight shadow ahead of her.

"Quickly!"

Aidan cut into the nearby forest that lined the cliff facing the ocean. It was thick and dense with under foliage and the knurled roots of the sea breeze trees tunneled through the ground like grotesque worms. Kynthia had no idea how Aidan expected her to run through this, but she tried as best she could. The two of them leapt and flew from root to root, climbing higher and further from whatever threat plagued Aidan.

"Aidan!" Kynthia yelled between heaving breathes half an hour later, "Please, Aidan I cannot go any further…"

She collapsed to her knees in the tall, grassy clearing. The cool grass was damp from the recently set sun; dew had begun to take hold and cling to the grasses tips like shimmering oval gems. The muscles in her legs, however, seared like the surface of the sun. She rolled onto her back, trying to catch her breath, as her calves twitched involuntarily and threatening to cease up entirely. Kynthia pulled some water from her over-the-back pouch and gently bended it around her right leg. The molten needle pain slowly cooled to a dull discomfort and, for a moment, Kynthia felt safe.

"Kynthia! KYNTHIA!"

"I'm over here!"

The intense fear in Aidan's voice made Kynthia's stomach clench. There was something unnatural and foreboding about it. Out of the forest, he came tearing through the grassy outcrop, shining steel eyes wide underneath his dark hood.

"Come with me. Please now!"

Kynthia was sure he didn't even slow his pace as he ran to her and lifted her up by the arm. Kynthia gritted her teeth through the pain as she clumsily limped with Aidan toward the tree line. He quickly threw out his hand and the earth deformed slightly. It was enough to create a small pocket in the ground, but the surrounding bushes and grass appeared unmoved. Unless under the closest inspection, Kynthia was sure she could crawl backwards into the small opening, cover her face with foliage, and no one would know she existed.

"Stay in here and hide yourself. Do not, DO NOT LEAVE THIS PLACE," Aidan said gravely, "for anything. Do not leave for me. Do not leave until you are sure you can travel safely."

He went to turn away, but Kynthia firmly caught him by the shoulder.

"What is going here, Aidan? Don't just leave me in the dark!" she said furiously, tired from the running and hiding from some unknown enemy.

"Fire Nation."

The response resonated throughout Kynthia's soul like a hammer striking an anvil. Kynthia got one last look at his sharp, steely eyes before he ran off into the clearing. Kynthia stood there watching him before reluctantly crawled into the hiding spot as instructed. The spot unfortunately had a clear view of the grassy patch Aidan was now preparing for battle in. Kynthia felt like a selfish coward, hiding in her hole and watching Aidan fight and die for her safety.

_He can't die… don't think that…_

For a moment, she watched him nervously pace around the clearing, occasionally kneeling down into the silvery, tall grass. To be nervous or frightened was an emotion Kynthia could not deny at the moment. The Fire Nation, even a small detachment of the regular army, was a force to be reckoned with. Highly trained and deadly efficient, any small victory won here tonight would cost Aidan and Kynthia in the long run. Kynthia's stomach twisted like an eel with anticipation and fear.

The full moon shone high above the battlefield as if it too was anxiously watching the solitary hooded archer in the clearing. The moonlight flooded the scene like quicksilver, depriving everything of its natural color. Shifting slightly, Kynthia quietly edged out her hand into the light. She could feel its power course through her veins and muscles. Her heart raced faster.

Aidan stood stalwart, bow drawn and an obsidian arrow nocked. His body was unusually rigid and his eyes narrowed; Kynthia could feel the tenseness in the cool, summer air. The gentle sway of the grass was taunting, causing Kynthia's emerald eyes to flick in and around the clearing, fearful of an emerging enemy.

Suddenly, Kynthia heard faint voices off into the pitch black woods. Aidan heard them too; she watched him crouch slightly like a feline of prey ready to pounce. He turned slowly and gracefully toward the sounds; the tip of the arrow in his bow hovered just above the swaying grass line of the clearing. Kynthia peered off into the inked forest. The voices of men grew louder. A burnt orange flame winked cynically between the trees in the forest. Kynthia's heart threatened to burst forth from her chest; it beat like a war drum and Kynthia, for one brief, sickening moment, humorously thought the soldiers were marching to its beat. Suddenly, the voices ceased.

"You there!" commanded a gruff voice, "Stand down immediately!"

The detachment of Fire Nation soldiers, donned in their crimson and onyx armor with ghastly white masks, marched into the grassy clearing. Kynthia counted nearly fifteen men. They surrounded the dark, hooded man in the middle of the clearing slowly, almost warily.

_They know who he is._

"I've been after you a long time, Thief," the obvious senior officer said in his rough voice, "The Fire Nation never forgave me for watching you break out of my prison."

Kynthia heard Aidan laugh behind his armed bow and a tan, taunting grin flashed beneath his blacked-out hood.

"Ah, Warden, it is nice to see you again! Addressing the prison, it was really your fault. Who has a prison made entirely of stone? Good luck imprisoning the most common type of benders in the world!"

The Warden barely nodded his head. All as one, the soldiers took up an aggressive, Firebending stance, armored palms aimed in Aidan's direction. The soldiers' polished swords and daggers reflected in the full moon; the jaws of the industrialized Fire Nation war machine glinted with a malevolent sheen as it focused in on the lone archer in the grassy meadow.

"Warden, if you do not leave me be, all of your men here will die where they stand." In sharp contrast to his jeering tone, the gravity in Aidan's voice brought the temperature in the area down a few degrees. Kynthia's heart raced faster.

"Is that so?"

Again, the Warden nodded and Kynthia stifled a small scream.

_Thirty… no fifty... Aidan!_

They rose like shadows from the inky blackness of the forest. Their ghoulish masks haunted the moonlit corners of the woods, evilly peering out into the clearing readied for battle. Kynthia slowly crawled deeper into her hiding spot, truly fearful. Tears glistened in her eyes as she gazed out at Aidan, who remained perfectly still.

_Run! Please, Aidan, run!_

However, Aidan would not answer Kynthia's pressing thoughts. A slight wind ran through the forest and into the clearing, its rustling footsteps only intensifying the robust silence between Aidan and the soldiers. Kynthia held her breath.

Suddenly, a blinding burst of dust completely obscured the clearing. Kynthia heard Aidan's bowstring release and a Fire Nation soldier closest to her fell, painfully clutching the shaft of the arrow that was defiantly stuck in his chest. Random bolts of fire helped clear the dust, if only slightly; Kynthia could barely make Aidan calmly dashing through the clearing. A burst of fire ripped through the darkness and Aidan disappeared underneath the dew laden grass. After a fluid roll through the protective arms of the meadow, Aidan emerged with an arrow nocked and fired at another guard. Kynthia was amazed at his planning. She could barely see the pitch black stalks of obsidian planted throughout the grass, preplaced for Aidan's distinct advantage. Aidan's agility and skill confused the soldiers; their fear and bewilderment was evident in every bolt of flame. Bursts of red fire flashed in every direction through the clearing; streaks of charred earth and grass crisscrossed in no sensible, organized pattern.

_They don't know where he's at!_

As quick as it had risen, the dust unnaturally settled, sending a wave of air rushing out of the meadow. Aidan stood defiantly in the middle of clearing, exactly in the same spot that he was found by the Fire Nation detachment. Kynthia could see the soldiers nervously exchanging looks as the eight or so carefully _wounded_ soldiers broke the silence with their screams of pain and wails for their mothers. Each wounded man rolled on the ground with shafts of obsidian jutting from their bodies.

"Leave now, Warden." Aidan's voice powerfully resonated through the steel helmet of each and every Fire Nation soldier.

"KILL HIM!"

The cool forest suddenly erupted into violent, laughing flames. Kynthia instinctively threw up her forearms; the smell of her own charred arm hair filled her senses. The men around her shouted out orders; she could barely hear them overtop the great shifting of earth and the roar of the fire. The heat was intense for a moment; the feeling of a thousand, burning pinpricks seared the outside of her forearms and dried out her mouth and eyes. In a flash, the flames extinguished and Kynthia cautiously opened one of her green eyes, peering through the small space between her forearms.

_No…_

"Stand down!" the Warden bellowed at the soldiers still in their aggressive stances. The men were hesitant to relax, even as the hooded, yet limp archer was held tight by two of their strongest soldiers. Aidan's back was smoking; the obsidian armor on his back had a spider web of white cracks through it. The burly guards struggled to hold his armored body on the glassed earth beneath them; their metallic boots screeched and slid on the recently smoothed surface.

"I said STAND DOWN!"

Kynthia watched the soldiers simultaneously snap to attention and sheath their weapons. The Warden gazed around at the soldiers with his gruff, scarred face, satisfaction teeming beneath his bloodshot eyes and ragged beard.

"You have done your Nation a great service tonight, men! This man," the Warden growled, unsheathing his sword and pointing it at the unconscious Aidan, "has killed thousands of your brethren in an effort to only further his personal, petty endeavors! He is an outlaw and a thief, nothing more…" The Warden viciously turned toward Aidan, his dirtied sword reared back and yellowing teeth bared.

_Aidan!_

Kynthia didn't even remember leaping from the hole in the earth. She sprinted forth into the clearing toward the Warden, her light blue hood pulled cynically over her visage. Kynthia's heart soared as the moonlight flooded through her clothes like liquid mercury. Her vision became unusually sharp and focused; the water from her backpack bended over her forearms with impeccable ease; her speed was but a blur through the monochromatic land of charred earth and glass. The fear and surprise of the surrounding soldiers was absorbed into the excited pores of her skin and jumped like lightening through her hair; the electricity in the air made Kynthia's heart race and pound faster with exhilaration.

Kynthia vaulted into the air, only a few feet from the Warden's side, her emerald eyes viciously narrowed with adrenaline and determination. The water around her forearms solidified with a crack and a pop into a bladed gauntlet of ice that winked evilly in blinding moonlight. Kynthia flew past the Warden, swiftly slicing her blade across the thin skin of the Warden's neck, sending blood spurting into the moonlight with every pulse of the man's evil heart. The warmth of the Warden's Firebending blood dripped sickeningly down Kynthia's hand as she rose above her fury-driven assassination with grace. The two, big and burly soldiers carrying Aidan dropped him as they stumbled backwards; their small eyes clearly relaying a message of utmost fear.

Abruptly, a glint of orange reflected off one of the large soldier's swords. Kynthia instinctively fell prone to the glassed ground, only to watch a bolt of fire rip through the armor of one of the two soldiers who had carried Aidan. Turning on a dime, Kynthia swiveled to face her assailant, who wasted no time sending another bolt of fire her way. She easily dodged this, rolling on her back to the right, and threw out a whip of water in the same fluid motion. Swiftly yanking the water whip back around his ankles, the soldier awkwardly fell to the glassed ground with a clatter of steel armor.

"ARRRGGGHH!"

Kynthia only had an instant to react. Eyes wide, she sidestepped the large soldier's polished sword by only a hair, but threw her hand up to his mask. In a burst of bending, Kynthia forced the water around her forearm to change into a jet of boiling steam, infiltrating the otherwise impenetrable ghoulish mask of the Firebender. The man wildly threw his sword away and fell to his knees, screaming in pain as his eyes were poached from within his own skull. Kynthia swiftly connected the side of her boot with the man's temple, silencing him.

"Leave or I will kill all of you!"

Kynthia's words rang throughout the forest. She was glad her hood was still up to hide her surprise; the commanding and powerful voice that echoed throughout the forest seemed nothing like her own. Numbering under ten, the remaining soldiers remained at attention, although slight side glances were taken by some of the greener recruits. Kynthia's heart threatened to burst from her chest as she anxiously awaited a reaction.

"Pull back to the shore, men," a stoic voice ordered from the tree line.

"Belay that!" an older voice shouted over top of the younger officer, "We came here to capture him! I'm not leaving without the Acolyte!"

_Acolyte?_

"Stand down, soldier! That's an order!"

"That…thing killed nearly half of our unit! And you expect us to turn tail and run like cowards!"

"Stand down! If the Acolyte wakes up, he'll slay the rest of unit in a heartbeat! We move out and regroup!" the officer marched off into the woods and the soldiers, some reluctantly, followed. Kynthia let out a small sigh of relief.

Suddenly, her vision was blinded by searing, white fire. She stumbled backwards and fell; a razor sharp spike of glass slit a perfect three inch line into her forearm's muscle. Kynthia screamed out in pain and tried to keep her vision from closing on itself as she frantically tried to find the source of the fire. The sound of a sword leaving its sheath pinpointed the enemy above and behind her head.

"I will not walk by and let you live!" the older soldier roared through his ghastly helmet as he raised his charred sword and plunged it toward Kynthia's abdomen.

Knowing she had no time to roll, Kynthia threw her good forearm in front of her, instantly forming a shield of ice to protect herself. It shattered in the midnight moonlight like a dropped mirror, but it had at least deflected the man's sword for the moment. He roared in frustration and Kynthia painfully crawled over the glassed landscape away from soldier. Her vision began to cloud; the flow of blood from her arm was too great. Kynthia weakly pulled herself in one last lurch toward the distant tree line. With the last bit of strength she had left, Kynthia defiantly rolled over onto her back, ready to stare death down with her bloodied green eyes.

The crazed soldier plunged his sword downward again, his devilish eyes devouring the image of the light blue hooded figure below him. He disregarded her loathing emerald eyes, the bearing of her teeth, and her rebellious roar at death. The soldier wanted the kill, _needed _the kill, for his Nation, for his brothers, for himself. He would kill her and capture the Acolyte. His heart raced in the moments for the final thrust. Kill the girl. Kill the Acolyte. Kill the legend.

A gold, calming light burst into Kynthia's vision. The sounds of the rustling leaves softly faded away. Kynthia did not squint or rear away from the light; it felt natural, pure, and protective. The urge to stand and walk toward the light overcame her, but she could not move. The light filled the deep gash in her arm and the pain seemed to melt away. Through the golden haze, she could barely see blackened silhouettes moving in the deep recesses of her vision, as if dodging her gaze to hide their mysterious identity.

"_Wait, come back!" she called out after a figure sprinting off into the other direction._

_ Kynthia, now released from her pain, bolted from the ground into a desperate dash to catch the mystifying figure. The figure was quick and agile, but Kynthia was nimble herself. Each breath and footstep echoed in the golden abyss. The figure began to materialize into a curious young man. A young man with black, jagged hair. Dual lines ran down his back and onto the limbs of his barely clothed being. _

_ "Aidan?" Kynthia asked tentatively, slowing coming to a stop behind the shadowy and blurred figure. The young man stood with his back toward her, unmoving. With an eyebrow raised in curiosity, Kynthia reached out and cautiously touched the man's forearm. His arm was as hot as fire, and Kynthia winced, withdrawing her hand quickly and shaking off the burn._

_ "Aidan, you're burnin-"_

_ But something stopped her thoughts. Entwining lines of bright white and blue began slowly braiding themselves from her fingertips and up her arm. The beautiful braided tattoo became thicker and more intricate as it flowed over her shoulder and disappeared behind her shoulder blade. Gazing in amazement, Kynthia went to bring her hands up to her face to examine this bizarre event, but the shadowy figure in front of her grabbed her wrists hard. His face and figure instantly materialized._

_ Aidan's steel grey eyes shone gold. The light streaming from his eyes and mouth was nearly overbearing at this close distance; Kynthia could feel the warmth of the light on her face. His dual straight line tattoos along his arms shone with a deep crimson and charcoal light. His shirtless dress revealed his muscles to be lean and defined underneath his golden tan skin._

_ "Kynthia," he said in a powerful, yet gentle, voice, "don't let them corrupt you. Don't become one of them. Don't make me kill you."_

_ "Aidan?" Kynthia asked frantically as more shadowy figures began to walk out of the slowly dying golden aura, "Who are they? What is happening? Aidan!"_

_ "They are us."_

_ "Aidan, I don't understand! Aidan, no!"_

_ Kynthia swiped at Aidan's figured, but it crumbled to dust in her hands. The golden aura vanished, and the shadows swooped violently upon her person. _

* * *

><p>Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the long wait. I really tried some of my best action writing in this chapter; I must have revised this about twenty times! I've obviously opened some plot doors for you guys, so tell me what you think! <strong>Please leave a review (I'll send you a response! Promise!).<strong>_ Oh and check out my profile for numerous and detailed Author's Notes! Thanks!  
><em>


	6. The Tavern

_Kynthia leapt through the smoke, forcing it to curl into swirling eddies behind her. The forest was roaring death at the top of its lungs; flames ravaged the foliage and the trees blazed in an unbelievable fury. The heat stung her tan, sweating face, but she was determined to find him. The tattoos on her arms grew brighter with every step in the right direction. They alone cut through the smoke like a sharp, white blade._

_ "Aidan!" Kynthia yelled, frantically looking out into the familiar clearing with wide, emerald eyes, "Aidan, where are you?"_

_ She couldn't see him, but she could sense him. Something connected her to him, something deep within the pit of her stomach. Kynthia sprinted off into the clearing, knocking the charred stalks of grass away in clouds of ash._

_ "Aidan!"_

_ She was certain he couldn't hear her over the monstrous roar of the fire. She combed the clearing for a limp, armored body, but the smoke was too great. It was thicker than the fog that clouded the Northern Water Tribe during the summer and as opaque as ink. Kynthia could feel it filling her lungs and stealing her body of precious air. As the smoke poured in, the connection in the pit of her stomach began to ebb away and fade like a spent candle's flame._

_ "No! Aidan! Aidan!"_

_ In pure panic and frustration, Kynthia screamed and threw her hands out in front of her in a seemingly futile attempt to comb through the smoke. The smoke moved. Kynthia's eyes filled with wonder. Again, she forced out her palm and the smoke wistfully curled away. Kynthia let her mind race for a moment, her eyes darting from the smoke and her new tattoos at top speed._

_Abruptly, the thought of Aidan jumpstarted Kynthia back into reality. Summoning all of the Chi in her body and praying to the spirits that this would work, Kynthia threw her hands up above her head, causing the smoke to whirl back into the burning forest and clearing the charred meadow._

_ "Aidan!" _

_ She darted over the broken, armored body with tears filling her deep green eyes. The smell of horribly burnt flesh attempted to overpower Kynthia's senses, but the sight of Aidan in this condition numbed everything. The armor along his back looked like it had been struck by lightning; a spider web pattern of white cracks emanated from the smoking, seared hole in his body. Cracked, dried blood coated the upright side of his face. _

_ "Please…no…." Kynthia numbingly whispered, her hand cautiously hovering above his body as if refusing to touch the body before her would stave off the truth of Aidan's death. Heavy tears streamed down Kynthia's soot-covered face, painting streaks along her cheeks, and splashed upon Aidan's bloodied armor._

_ "No…"_

"Kynthia! Kynthia!"

Kynthia woke with a jolt. A shirtless and tired Aidan sat at the edge of her bed, his warm hand tenderly placed on her forearm. A bloodied, old bandage had been crudely wrapped around his abdomen. Worry was streaked across his face alongside of numerous cuts and slashes.

"Are you okay? You kept yelling my name; I could hear you clear into the other room," he said with a slight laugh and a raised eyebrow.

"The other room?" Kynthia asked quietly, looking around at the small bedroom she was in now. Opposed to the great stone palaces of the Earth Kingdom and the flowing, elegant buildings of the Northern Water Tribe, the room around resembled the interior of a hastily-built log cabin. It smelled strongly of cedar and stale beer and the only source of light in the interior room was a single candle on the room's primitive nightstand. The blinds over the window had been pulled shut, blocking out any moonlight from entering the room. Kynthia looked questioningly up at Aidan.

"Where are we?"

"Please, answer my question first," he said sternly, putting pressure on her forearm with his hand. She rolled her eyes, but glanced at her forearm, looking for nonexistent tattoos.

"I'm fine, Aidan. Just… bad dreams. I'm just glad you're okay."

With her words, a small grin crept across Aidan's face and Kynthia thought she saw him blush slightly. She quickly looked away, smiling.

"We're in a tavern, right outside of Thieves Landing-" Aidan began.

"Thieves Landing?"

Kynthia's heart jumped in her chest. She nearly scrambled out of her bed, but realized she only had undergarments on. Instinctively, she tried to pull the covers up to her neck, but Aidan was sitting on the blanket. Quickly, she looked to Aidan with a pleading look in her eyes, but she knew it was a mistake the moment a joking grin cracked across his face. Pouting, Kynthia slid lower under the covers until her face and flowing brown hair was the only thing poking out.

"Thieves Landing? How did we get here? And why are we here of all places?"

Thieves Landing, as far as Kynthia knew, was a safe haven for pirates, swashbucklers, and assassins. The Northern Water Tribe had made it a major campaign to stamp out the town even though it was technically on Earth Kingdom soil. For years, the pirates of Thieves Landing had intercepted some of the fastest Water Tribe merchant ships and threatened to disrupt the Tribe's fishing grounds with their activities. While the pirates usually spared the life of the crew, they often destroyed the captured ship after looting everything of value off board. Kynthia had always heard it was near suicide to walk the streets of Thieves Landing; any one of the multiple muggers or desperate thieves of the city wouldn't think twice about slitting your throat and stealing your possessions. Even though she felt safe with Aidan, the foreboding aura of the infamous port town made her chest tighten with anxiety.

"Aidan, we can't be here! We need to move north across the Channel; we're so close to getting to the Tribe!" she exclaimed.

"Calm down," he said with a laugh, placing pressure on her arm again as she began to crawl out from the covers, "We are safe here. Trust me."

"Trust you? Aidan, I don't mean to insult, but I think I know more than you about this area. It's practically in our Tribe's backyard!" she said frantically.

_He must understand!_

Aidan looked at her with smiling steel eyes, not saying a word. For a moment, she returned his gaze, expecting him to realize the error of his ways, agree with her, and set off into the moonlight toward the North. However, he just remained seated, grinning at her. And all of a sudden, it clicked.

"Oh…" Kynthia mumbled under her breath, "Aidan. Notorious thief. _Thieves_ Landing…"

"You're a genius, Kynthia. We should just scrap this whole "Journey to the North" plan and get you enrolled in the National University…" he said with a spark in his eye.

"Shut up!" Kynthia laughed, kicking him off the side of the bed. He stumbled away and grimaced in pain, clutching his bandaged body with one hand. Kynthia's eyes flew wide open.

"Aidan, I'm so sorry!"

With no thought to her appearance, Kynthia jumped from her covers and threw a shoulder under Aidan's free arm. He collapsed onto her, but she held steady.

"Thanks…" he said in a tired voice, still holding the bloodied bandage at his middle.

Together, they walked to the bedside and sat down. Kynthia's green eyes lingered on his bandaged wound for a moment.

"Aidan," Kynthia said in a quiet voice, "What happened?"

After a short sigh and a tired look, he proceeded to tell her everything he remembered from the battle nights before. Kynthia struggled to remember the majority of it; every time she would call on her memory, her head would pound and feel like it was threatening to split open. Few things flashed through her mind as Aidan recounted the night: the ground beneath her feet unnaturally heated to the point it solidified into blacken glass; the warm, sticky blood of the Firebenders crawling down her forearm; the pop and crack of the water freezing into a blade; and the crazed eyes of the renegade soldier, his sword plunging fast toward her abdomen. The haze that engulfed her mind refused to yield. Aidan paused for a moment in his tale. Every wrinkle, gash, and cut in his face became severely contrasted in weakly wavering light of the single candle.

"What happened next?" she asked in a hushed tone, almost not wanting to hear what he had to say.

"I remember hearing the Warden order the attack. I tried to block the fire; I raised as much earth as I could as fast as I could possibly react, but it wasn't enough… There was this bright flash…" Aidan's steel eyes glassed over like a mirror; Kynthia watched the candle's flame dance in his eyes, "And my body went numb. I couldn't move a muscle; I felt locked up. My mind rang like I had stood next to a temple's bell and I couldn't feel my stomach…"

"Your stomach?"  
>Aidan shook his head slightly, breaking his gaze from the candle and looking at Kynthia with deep, sad eyes.<p>

"The stomach is what holds the entire body's Chi… When I lost control of my stomach, I lost my Chi," he looked away from her and sighed, closing his eyes, "Kynthia… I can't bend…"

A chill ran through the room, straight through Kynthia's heart. She felt her chest melt in sympathy as she stared at the broken, bandaged bandit sitting at her bedside. She reached out to squeeze his shoulder, to hug him, to give him comfort, but she was interrupted.

"After the lightning, I could still feel you near me. I could sense your vibration in the earth. Your heart was racing, Kynthia," he said with a small laugh, "Then suddenly, you disappeared."

_The Warden stood at the end of a long, dark tunnel in Kynthia's vision. The blood rushing through her ears deafened the world around her. The muscles in her legs screamed for valor, lifting her from that cowardly hole in the ground._

"You hit the ground, fast. Step after step, I could feel you coming closer…"

_The surprised and confused look on the soldiers' faces melted into the rapidly blurring landscape around Kynthia. Her body moved with impeccable ease and agility; the moonlight soaked into her muscles, giving them eternal life…_

"Again, you disappeared, but I could feel the bending of water…"

_Kynthia was soaring above the desolated battlefield. With a snap and a pop, a bladed gauntlet of ice snuggly secured itself to her arm, cynically waiting for its chance to kill…_

"The Warden's body fell to the ground and you landed away from me. The Warden stopped moving after awhile; his warm blood soaked through the ground and onto my face. Then suddenly, I remember feeling a whirl of commotion…"

_A bolt of fire pierced the soldier's steel armor, sending flicks of molten iron into Kynthia's flesh. More blood, more warmth, more ice. It was a spinning blur of combat and Kynthia's mind switched into automatic…_

"Then I felt you fall, harshly on the ground. Another man ran to you. I felt your heart, Kynthia," Aidan whispered, reaching out and placing his hand on hers, "it was racing and pounding for dear life… I felt your fear, your rage, your rebellion. Suddenly, your defiant yell pierced my ears. It felt like a wave of cool water had washed over the back of my head…"

_Through the blood in her eyes, Kynthia viciously stared down her killer. She yelled a final yell of freedom, defiance, and rebellion. The Fire Nation would take her life, but they would remember this young woman who had killed several of their trained soldiers. In a sudden yet soft pulse, gold light filled Kynthia's vision. The soldier froze with his sword high above him, his silhouette mysteriously paralyzed in time…_

"And I felt myself rise, but I could not see. I felt my arms move and I heard the shifting of earth, but I could not control my body. I was trapped behind my eyes, but something was guiding me. My body protected us for a moment… and then I collapsed. I awoke hours later here in this tavern."

There was a short pause as Kynthia pulled herself from her memories. They ran through her mind like a never ending movie, only intensified by Aidan's unknowing narration. However, her eyebrows came together in concern at the end of his recollection.

"How did we get here then?" she asked Aidan.

"Well, I was going to show you when you got dressed," he said, slowly standing and tenderly holding his abdomen. He limped over to the dark corner of the room and threw a bundle of clothes at Kynthia. She went to catch them, but the weight of the bundle through her back into her bed. She looked up at Aidan.

"What'd you put in these, rocks?"

"Yeah, in a matter of sorts," he said with a grin, "I savaged the intact parts of my armor and refitted them for you. They're yours now; I need you to make it to the North."

"Aidan-"

"I'm not taking them back!" he said overtop of her, turning and opening the door. A blade of soft, crimson light pierced the room. Aidan flashed her look over his back that said I-will-see-you-soon and limped out of the room.

Kynthia hasted to put on the war torn armor and the remnants of her summer Water Tribe outfit. It was speckled and stained with blood and the rips and tears in the fabric had been accented with singed outlines. She had to be careful in a few spots as she pulled on the clothing; once, Kynthia had almost torn the fabric completely in two with her foot. Aidan's obsidian armor, or at least what was left of it, was surprisingly light and breathable. As proven on the battlefield nights ago, the honeycomb pattern of gleaming obsidian shards could easily deflect any physical or elemental blow to a certain point. Of all of the armor that Aidan had all that remained were thigh and forearm guards, and a single shoulder pauldron. The silver silk lining of each armor piece snuggly caressed her body and when all the armor was equipped, Kynthia truly felt like she was wearing no armor at all.

"Ready?" Aidan asked through the door minutes later, right as Kynthia was securing her water bladder over her shoulder. She immediately threw up her light blue Water Tribe hood and reached for the door.

"Ready."

A hooded, olive green figure greeted her quietly on the other side of the door. Aidan had obviously purchased new temporary clothing, but a familiar, cynically grinning bow and quiver were slung over his back. Gloved hand on the dagger in his belt, Aidan paused for a moment.

"Watch your back. I'm familiar with most of the patrons of this tavern, but I can't guarantee absolute peace."

"Wouldn't that be a relief?" Kynthia quipped with an Aidan-like grin. She smiled to herself and pushed past him, but her hand involuntarily found its way to the hilt of her blade as well.

The sounds and smells of the tavern downstairs quickly found their way to Kynthia's senses. The air was thick and musty; the characteristic smell of split beer and whiskey slightly seared Kynthia's nose. Descending off of the stairs, the tavern was filled with a curious assortment of patrons. Each person in the establishment was cloaked in the dim candle light that hardly lit the bar. A ragged band played their tone in the corner of the musty tavern; Kynthia half expected their sole purpose in the establishment was to provide audio cover for the shady patrons. Kynthia's heart jumped as Aidan grabbed her wrist.

"This way," he mumbled under his hood and Kynthia followed.

Most of the patrons of the bar followed similar dress codes: A few pirates stood together around a corner table near the band and strangers in hooded outfits lined the chipped and vandalized bar. Both groups quietly leaned over their drinks, hardly speaking to anyone save themselves. Aidan let her through the tables toward the ancient bar and Kynthia made it a point not to look any of the patrons in the eyes.

"Oi! Who do you think yer 're?"

Kynthia slammed into Aidan's back. His grip on her wrist painfully tightened for a moment before he released her and faced the angry man. Aidan silently pushed Kynthia behind him.

"How can you go 'round pushin' this… lovely lady 'round like she's yer property?" the large pirate yelled, spilling grog out of his dirty mug, "I think she should be all of our property!"

The burly, red-faced pirate paused for a moment, expecting a rousing cheer from the other patrons in the bar. But the silence in the bar was solid; ten or twenty dark hoods were turned in Aidan and Kynthia's direction.

"Fine," he growled, finishing his grog and slamming his mug down, "I'll just take 'er from you then."

"I wouldn't mess with him if I were you!"

The jeering, laughing voice that emanated from the bar immediately formed an image of Aidan in Kynthia's mind's eye. But the voice wasn't Aidan's; it was young, feminine, and light. At once, the entire tavern shifted toward the bar and even Aidan's eyes turned and shone with surprise.

"I found this guy carrying that lady out of the woods with a hole the size of your fat head in his stomach. He'd fought off an entire detachment of Fire Nation and killed each and every single one of them… You'd be wise to leave him be, you drunkard."

The patrons at the bar cleared away slightly and Kynthia got her look at the voice behind the jeer. Obviously the barmaid, the young woman leaned on the bar with a sideways grin. Her flaming red hair was tied back in messy ponytail and her dark brown eyes held a certain, heckling sparkle in them. She herself wore a sort of crude armor and her hands were gloved in studded leather. She refused to break her taunting gaze with the drunken pirate.

This had made the pirate angry as he looked back at Aidan with his squinting, beady eyes.

"I don't car' how many soldiers he's killed… I'm takin' 'er!"

Kynthia moved backwards a few steps with the rest of the bar, leaving Aidan and the burly pirate in the middle of a cleared bar. The band, which had paused for a moment during the shouting, picked up immediately, playing a much faster paced tone. Kynthia watched the pirate sloppily bounce around on his feet in a boxing stance and laughed to herself.

_This should be entertaining._

The pirate roared as he swung fast with his fat fist, spit peeling out of his sloppy mouth. Aidan hardly moved, calmly side stepping the blow and moving behind the pirate. The burly man caught his weight in a large lurch and frantically looked around his target. Kynthia, along with the rest of the bar, laughed at his rather prominent stupidity.

"Where 're ya?" the pirate roared, whirling around to face Aidan.

"Are you going to hit me?" Aidan said softly, flashing a grin underneath his hood.

"ARRGGH!"

The pirate swung again and again, but Aidan was too quick and too sober. The tavern roared in laughter.

"C'mon, you can do better than that!" Aidan laughed, swiftly moving around the pirate.

And then, in an instant, everything changed. In a burst of white smoke, the crack of pistol rattled the bar and Aidan crashed backwards into a table, splintering it into a hundred pieces. The shocked tavern froze in time; Kynthia's mind numbed. The burly pirate stood with a swagger, his spent flintlock pistol dangling in his drunken hand. He breathed heavily, his beady eyes staring at the pile of broken wood and split beer.

"See! See, what happens to ya if you mess with me?" the burly pirate shouted to the bar, turning around with his arms wide open.

"Yeah, this'll happen to you."

Aidan's vicious voice cut through the bar as easily as the blade of his dagger slit the pirate's throat. The sound of man's gurgling voice made several of the patrons cringe and wince; Kynthia calmly stood and watched the man stumble and slip to the ground in a pool of his own blood. She was used to such things by now.

It took a moment, but Kynthia's mind suddenly kicked into gear. She ran over to Aidan, dodging the fresh dead body, examining his wound. The tavern started to murmur.

"I'm fine, he just grazed my shoulder," Aidan discarded, looking down at the blood on his finger tips.

"We should get that treated," Kynthia pressed, watching the blood stain grow on his outfit with nervous eyes, "I'm sure there is a surgeon in this town somewhere."

Aidan laughed with a grimace before responding.

"Kynthia, I would rather walk for days in the swamps of the Earth Kingdom with this open wound than request the help of a Thieves Landing surgeon."

"I'm going to have to agree with that."

The young barmaid threw out her gloved hand with a smile.

"Name's Calika. Thanks for dirtying up my bar," she said with grin. Kynthia saw Aidan's eyes light up as he returned the handshake.

"Someone's got to do it," he flirted, flashing her what Kynthia regarded as he most cheesy smile ever.

"My name is Kynthia," she interjected quickly, sliding in between Aidan and the barmaid.

"Pleasure," Calika said shortly, standing on her tiptoes to look at Aidan's wound over Kynthia's shoulder, "Looks like you need a healer."

"You can heal?" Aidan asked with surprising tone. Kynthia's face grew warm in embarrassment. She felt like Aidan's surprise that he had finally found a healer was indirectly caused by her inability to do so.

"It's practically a perquisite to own a tavern in such a fine town as this," she said with a flirtatious laugh, making Kynthia cringe, "Here, come with me. We'll heal that up right quick."

Calika stepped over the dead pirate without a second thought and lead them into the backroom of the tavern. She quickly cleared a space on the counter and gestured for Aidan to sit. As Calika turned to gather some water, Kynthia turned on Aidan, who was watching the red head walk away.

"Hey, down here," Kynthia snapped, "I think it's a good idea that we leave for the Tribe tonight. I've got a bad feeling about staying here."

"We could probably stay here until morning at least," Aidan mumbled mindlessly.

"We're leaving as soon as this barmaid gets you healed up."

Kynthia turned and stormed out of the backroom, slamming the door on the way out.

* * *

><p>The ice doors to the Royal Room burst open. The scout's padded footsteps echoed throughout the massive chamber as he sprinted toward the Chief's Quarters. Sweat blurred his vision and his muscles ached from his latest journey out into the dangerous waters of the North. But these things were of the norm. The things he saw tonight made his stomach turn in fright and his legs weak in fear. The adrenaline flowing through his dilated veins was the only thing allowing his body to function.<p>

"Chief! Chief, please answer! It is important-"

The thick ice doors to the Chief's Quarters swung open.

"What is it, soldier?" the Chief asked tiredly, rubbing one of eyes and yawning.

"Sir, two things. A Fire Nation fleet numbering in the upper twenties has been spotted six hours south of our shoreline-"

"What?"

"Second, I have confirmed, the General's daughter has recovered the Acolyte. They are en route to land in approximately two hours."

The Chief's eyes lit up at the second point.

"Notify the General immediately! You have done well, soldier!"

"Sir!" the scout saluted before turning tail and sprinting off toward the General's quarters. The Chief smiled and turned back into his room.

"Between the two Acolytes and the Avatar… we will be unstoppable…" he whispered, crawling back under the covers next to his wife.

_The Northern Water Tribe will finally spread and leave this frozen wasteland…_

* * *

><p><strong>WOW, that chapter turned out to be waaaay longer than expected. I hope you enjoyed it! Please drop me a review, dear readers! Thanks!<strong>


	7. The Cold and The Anger

Aidan crunched forward a few steps in the frozen tundra, straining his eyes across the frozen, desolate wasteland. The sun was high in the sky, but its glare truly came from the reflective snow at the ranger's feet. The brightness was unbearable.

"I don't know how your people live in a place like this," he mumbled into the swirling wind and bitter cold. Aside from the trusty bow and quiver on his back, Aidan felt naked and helpless even under his new Water Tribe parka Kynthia had purchased for him. The fur-lined layer of the parka was warm and comforting, but this land was foreign and harsh on his mind and body. Aidan's personal paradise would contain warm fields, lush forests, and cool creeks; harsh winds, blinding snow, and a mocking sun sickened him to his stomach.

His bending was recovering, but it would be no use here. The ice shelf beneath his feet felt alien and unstable; the thick, insulated boots that Kynthia had purchased for him also cut off any earthly connection with the ground. A sense of blindness and confusion constantly and consistently bogged down Aidan's mind.

He sighed and turned around, finding Kynthia pulling on another fur stuffed glove. Glancing up, she could tell that he was unhappy; a heckling grin immediately cracked across her face.

"What's wrong, Aidan?" she jeered, "Feeling a little out of your element?"

Aidan put on a stone face as Kynthia smugly walked past him. Aidan was sure she felt on top of the world right now, finally returned to her own sense of elemental paradise. He rolled his eyes, thanking the Spirits that he'd be able to leave this retched place within a few days, and grabbed their rucksack.

"Let's just get to the Tribe…"

The captain of the smuggling vessel landed the pair a day's walk away from the Tribe's outermost walls. The Fire Nation's massive blockade of the North was too dangerous for any attempt to sneak through and, furthermore, landing on a beachhead covered in Fire Nation soldiers would have been complete suicide. Although Aidan was initially against the entire idea, Kynthia had reassured him that she could find the Tribe from the alternative landing point, which was around a day's hike away from the outer walls of the Tribe. And now, the Earthbender was bundled in foreign, bulky clothing, crossing a foreboding landscape that made him cringe with every gust of bone-chilling air.

_Terrible, awful idea…_

The weak, pink summer sun shyly edged the horizon, not daring to dip below its celestial boundary. Aidan had heard from travelers that the Northern sun refused to set in the longest days o the summer; it was certainly something he never personally wished to experience. It did, however, give something for Aidan to focus on, which helped distract him from his discomfort. The torturous wind burnt his face with a passion, fooling Aidan into thinking he had been struck by a flame. Simple actions such as walking proved to be a challenge; the tough, top shell of the snow layer was deceiving as it hid nearly two feet of fresh powder beneath it. Every step in the accursed stuff was truly the equivalent of multiple steps on a clear, dirt path. The sweat beneath Aidan's parka only chilled him more and he could feel it crystallizing on his short, shard-like hair. The swirling snow around his boots danced like school children and each gust of the accursed wind penetrated his parka like an icy dagger.

The rays of the meek sun barely filtered through the gradually thickening snow fall that began to cloud his sight. Dark, thick clouds strong-armed their way into the Northern sky, sweeping the little light given by the weak sun away in minutes. What was the mild wind that swirled snow around his boots explosively grew into a monstrous gale without hardly any warning. The sparking scene disappeared into silvery darkness, its opaqueness greatly augmented by the blizzard-like snow swirling in the air. Aidan held down his hood with one of his hands and squinted ahead of him, his heart suddenly leaping out of his chest.

"Kynthia!" he yelled overtop of the roaring wind and snow, "Kynthia!"

He immediately spread his legs apart in an effort to feel her heartbeat through the earth before realizing that only snow and ice lay beneath his boots. His shouts were muffled like that of yelling into a bundle of clothes.

"Kynthia!"

The only sound that rang through his senses was the increasing pace of the blood following through his ears. He frantically turned on the spot: left, right, left. There was nothing here, nothing but unforgiving snow and conquering wind.

"Aidan!"

And then, all of a sudden, the snowfall ceased. Aidan swung around, peeling off his hood, and saw Kynthia trudging toward him, her gloved hands in the air above her head. Aidan glanced upward, momentarily impressed by the massive water shield that Kynthia had bended around them.

"Thank the Spirits, I thought we were separated," Aidan said with a sigh. Kynthia returned the caring with a smile, but her face became serious instantaneously.

"I know I'm stating the obvious, but this storm is horrible, Aidan. I don't think we can go any further today. We're going to have to make camp tonight and just wait it out."

Aidan silently cursed to himself.

"How far do you think it is to the Outer Wall?"

"At least a half of a day's worth," she said before cracking a grin, "You know, if you weren't so slow, we would've made it by now."

"If we ever meet again on dry land-" Aidan awkwardly stopped himself, thrown off guard at the swift retort that left his body. Kynthia herself looked dumbstruck for a moment; the shield of water shrank slightly as her concentration was focused elsewhere. Aidan's mind whirled toward the future, something he had not given thought about for the last few weeks. In a day or two, he would drop Kynthia off at her home, collect his bounty, and sail back to the Earth Kingdom. But something had distracted him from that plan, something had pulled blinders over his eyes and made him feel broken out of the bounty hunter cycle. Kynthia's voice rang through his mind.

"Aidan," she asked, leaning forward and looking up into his glassed-over grey eyes, "Are you still with me?"

He snapped out of his thoughts with a shake of his head. The two emeralds that pierced his vision demanded an explanation for his oddness. Aidan took a chance and quickly redirected the conversation.

"We need shelter," he responded stiffly.

"Yes," Kynthia said after a moment of eyeing Aidan, "I was thinking the same thing. I can bend us a small cave to rest in during the night."

"No walls or separate huts like I make all the time?" Aidan quipped before he could stop himself, but threw on a grin nonetheless.

In an instant, the water shield disappeared, and, over top the howling arctic wind, Aidan heard the great bending and popping of ice. He struggled to throw his hood back on in the powerful gusts and stumbled around until his hands found the smooth icy shield of Kynthia's makeshift shelter. He could barely make out the fuzzy form of Kynthia's body through the fogged ice.

"Kynthia! Kynthia, let me in!" His numb hands pounded on ice, but it would not budge, "Okay, look, I'm sorry. Please let me in!"

The ice underneath Aidan's hands instantly cleared, Kynthia's laughing face right behind it. In a loud crack and a pop, Aidan fell face first into a fresh layer of snow, but the wind around his body ceased to exist. Rolling over and face stinging with cold, Aidan blinked the snow out of his eyes and smiled up at Kynthia. She was kneeling next to him; the tips of her wavy, mahogany-colored hair only inches away from Aidan's cheeks.

"You need me out here, not the other way around; remember that," Kynthia said with a grin, extending a gloved hand and lifting Aidan off of his back.

The pair proceeded to pile all of their heavy, snow caked clothing in a corner of the small makeshift igloo. Around the shelter, the winter storm howled and roared, unforgiving in its assault against the outside of the minuscule obstruction in the vast, arctic wasteland. But its muffled attacks were soothing to hear from the inside the protection of the igloo, and the pair found solace in listening to the storm for a while.

"So where will you go when this is all over?" Kynthia asked, staring up into the clearing night sky. She had blended the ice clear on the top of the igloo so that Aidan and herself could watch the storm from their backs.

"As terrible as it is," Aidan said with a grin, also gazing at the stars, "I'll stay in the North a few days. You know, explore around, maybe stop by the market .But I'll leave for Thieves Landing as soon as I can after that."

"Oh…"

Eventually, the wind exerted its last, desperate push against Kynthia's ice dome and disappeared into the night. The blizzard had dumped a heavy layer of snow; Aidan could see it had drifted up the entire north side of the shelter. It was comforting; the snow layer almost seemed to lovingly hug the small igloo in the vastness of the North.

"What about you?" Aidan asked into the silvery darkness. The full moon had just crawled out from behind a lone cloud.

"I'm… I'm not too sure. I don't like thinking about it…" she struggled to say, her emerald eyes lowering. Aidan turned and leaned on his side, facing her.

"Why? What's up?"

"The Northern Tribe has always been my home," she began, brushing a lock of her hair out of her face, "but it has also been my prison. Leaving on that ship a few weeks ago was more first journey outside of the North. My father had always refused to let me go outside of his watch… but he suddenly had a change of heart and I had to seize it."

"But now you're worried he won't let you out anymore…"

Kynthia acknowledged Aidan's whisper with a short moment of silence. The weakened wind softly shifted some of the snow around the clear igloo.

"I've had so much fun being with you, Aidan."

In the moonlight, Aidan saw a stream of silver flow down her cheek. She quickly brushed it away as if she did not want to reveal her brief moment of weakness.

"These last couple of weeks," Aidan began, "I've gotten to know you better than I've known anyone else in the entire world. You're amazing-"

"Aidan, please," Kynthia said with a laugh, turning away from him.

"No, no, no! Hear me out!" he said with a grin. He rolled over onto his back, facing the stars.

"Fine…" she said, rolling her eyes, but the smile refused to yield from her face.

"I'm just trying to say that you are truly unique. You are a great Waterbender, you love adventure, you're just as rough and tough as I am. You hold your own and you don't take flack from anyone. I've seen you fight, I've seen you save my life, I've seen you do things I never thought the captured girl I rescued on the beach a few weeks ago would or could do…

I guess what I'm trying to say is that of all the places life can take you after we part ways, don't let it be your bed chamber in your family's home. Maybe it's the drifter in me, but I think you should escape the Tribe and see the world. You deserve that much."

There was a moment of silence before Kynthia burst out laughing, clutching her stomach.

"What?" Aidan exclaimed, sitting up and blushing.

She continued to laugh until Aidan threw a handful of snow at her. Quickly recovering and still chuckling, she iced him in a place, leaving only his head poking out. The pair laughed and talked with each other one last night under the stars until the clutches of sleep pulled the world around them to a quiet and peaceful close.

* * *

><p>"Aidan!"<p>

His silver steel eyes flew open immediately. Kynthia was momentarily surprised at his alertness and quickness, but it was nevertheless dissolved: she had to press the situation at hand.

"What's…. oh no…" he said slowly.

As one, the pair looked up through their clear igloo and stared at the crimson orb in the sky. The moon had dressed itself in its own blood, silently lamenting it's obvious spiritual disruption. Kynthia thought she saw the color drain from the Earthbender's face, but it nowhere matched the drained feeling of her own body. Kynthia couldn't hold her hands steady; her entire body trembled like an earthquake as if her spiritual energy source was rapidly shutting down.

"Aidan…" Kynthia said weakly, her hands shaking, "I don't feel well at all…"

"Kynthia, try to bend us out of here!" he demanded, worriedly eyeing the unfortunate prison around him.

"Aidan, I…"

"Kynthia now!"

She flung out her arms in her normal fluid fashion, but the ice did not budge. Her eyes filled with fright as she tried again and again, but it was with no avail. She tearfully looked over at Aidan, his silver eyes reflecting the rusted moon like mirrors.

"What is happening?"

Her words rang through his mind like a slow bell tone. Kynthia could sense Aidan's mind firing with electricity, trying to comprehend and understand the situation while simultaneously devising a solution to get out of their icy prison. His eyes sharpened; a muscle in his jaw clenched. Suddenly, a voice, muffled by the thick ice igloo, penetrated the stone silence. The clear and unforgiving sound of an armored fist pounding on the ice echoed in Kynthia's mind.

"Yes, there's definitely someone in there," a muffled, authoritative voice confirmed.

"Burn'em out."

"Aye."

In an instant, the igloo erupted in bright, orange light as the Firebender's flames torn at the outside of the igloo like a hungry beast. Kynthia immediately crawled backwards behind Aidan away from the flame, her eyes temporarily blinded by the immediate brightness of the flame.

"Aidan," Kynthia asked frantically, her emerald eyes transfixed on the licking flames, "what are we going to do? That fire is going to kill us!"

"Stay behind me, Kynthia."

Aidan's calm, strong voice threw Kynthia off balance. She broke away from the fire, focusing on the back of his head with utter disbelief.

"What? No, I won't let you-"

"Stay behind me."

"Aidan, no! You're talking craz-"

She moved to get up and grab his arm, but he flung his strong hand back, roughly pushing her back down into the ice and snow. Shock pulsed through her heart; Aidan had never even slightly brushed her, much less shoved her to the ground.

"Stay behind me and we'll live. Move and you will die," he growled, staring down the growing orange orb breaking its way through the ice. Kynthia heeded Aidan's strong words, the knot of anxiousness threatening to tear out of abdomen. The beast of flame roared louder and louder; it's hunger was so close to being completely satisfied.

In a flash, the igloo erupted with a plume of crimson flames. The roar of the fire flooded Kynthia's ears; she couldn't even hear her own yells for Aidan. In pure fright and terror, Kynthia shut her eyes and threw up her arms in a futile gesture of protection; to die with her eyes poached out of her skull was too much to imagine even for her. Kynthia felt the animalistic flames of the Fire Nation soldier lick at her flesh and singe her hair, but, as soon as it burst into the igloo, the fire disappeared. Kynthia slowly cracked one eye open, peeking out from her forearms.

Aidan stalwartly stood in front of her, golden, divine flames climbing up his arm from the palms at his side. The calm, pure gold light radiated in all directions, bathing the surrounding wasteland in precious luxury. Every crevasse and crack, no matter how small, mirrored Aidan's light; the divine reflections seemed to purge the area of any hostile threat.

"Aidan?" Kynthia whispered in awe.

The flames licked up his bare torso. The divine fire was immensely bright, but Aidan's tattoos were brighter. Under normal circumstances, Kynthia had become accustomed to them in their red and charcoal grey form; the pure golden lines that ran the lengths of his arms, legs, and back only intensified Aidan's supernatural presence. Charred tatters of his undershirt hung loosely from his winter leggings waistline; Aidan's bare chest and back, glistening with a layer of sweat and oil, shone in the golden light that bounced around the igloo.

"Aidan, wha… I… "

Kynthia was at a loss for words. She slowly rose and cautiously walked over him. The fire emanating from his palms extinguished with a hiss.

"Kynthia, I will explain later. We need to get to the Tribe tonight," he said, glancing over his shoulder at her. On top of everything else, Kynthia was amazed yet again; Aidan's eyes and mouth shone with the same divine light.

"But how can yo-"

"The answers will come, but now is not the time," he quickly interrupted. The light from his body slowly disappeared, and soon, the igloo had filled with darkness once more. Kynthia stood frozen; her mind whirled like a dervish. Unanswered questions fought with the unfathomable images Kynthia had just witnessed; nothing made any sense.

_What is going on?_

Aidan scrambled around the igloo, crudely stuffing their few possessions into a knapsack. His fervor to move was only intensified by the blood-red moon solemnly hanging in the pitch black arctic sky. Kynthia stood motionless as Aidan stoically attended to the matter at hand, seemingly uncaring about the event that had just occurred.

"Come on, Kynthia, we're leaving."

He quickly leapt over the smoking corpses at the mouth of the igloo and trudged off into the wasteland without looking back. Her green eyes sharpened with anger, Kynthia furiously stared at the back of his head in the moonlight. Something must have broken through his determined, path-set mind; he slowly stopped and halfway turned around some feet away. A gust of arctic wind threw a burst of fresh snow into the air, sparkling like crimson confetti in the tainted moonlight, but Kynthia's eyes didn't break gaze.

"What are you doing? Stop standing there and let's go!" Aidan roared over the rising wind.

Something sparked in Kynthia's mind. Before she knew it, she was out in the snow herself, yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Are you serious, Aidan? What happened back there? I… Who… I feel like I don't even know who you are anymore!"

Kynthia's heart was elated at Aidan's evident shock and awe at her outburst. It was short lived; Aidan's eyes sharpened and he threw his rucksack to the side, pointing in her direction.

"Look, Kynthia, there's no time to explain; we have to move!" he shouted back at her, his voice weakly breaking through the gust picking up around them.

"I'm not something you can just tote around! I can make it perfectly fine out here; you're the one who needs me to get your stupid bounty!" she shouted, her anger level close to completely boiling over, "That's all you care about is getting me back, dropping me off, and disappearing back into the Earth Kingdom like nothing happened!"

"You're behaving like a child, Kyn-"

"YOU'RE BEHAVING LIKE A CHILD?" Kynthia roared, throwing her fists back, "I DESERVE TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE; I SAVED YOUR LIFE! EVEN WHEN YOU TOLD ME TO HIDE, I RISKED MY LIFE FOR YOURS!"

The storm had freakishly returned and, this time, it came with a vengeance on the pair. Shards of ice kicked up from the insane gusts flew like daggers around them; their glints in the lunar light winked like savage vampire bats' eyes. Aidan cringed in the force of the gust; Kynthia thought she may have seen specks of blood whip off his forearms as he attempted to guard himself from the arctic shrapnel.

"KYNTHIA! CALM DOWN!" he shouted, desperately trying to hold his hood over the side of his face. An increasingly growing line of crimson red dropped down his bare hand and into this winter parka.

"NO! YOU CALM DOWN AND TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!"

The storm around her groaned and strained to upkeep its relentless Northern assault. Kynthia couldn't feel a thing but the anger boiling up at her neck; she was sick of being pushed and dragged around, sick of the way Aidan was keeping her as a fool. It was oddly satisfying seeing the talented Earthbender kneel in front of her; he had taken a few steps toward her before and stumbled sideways in a monstrous gust of wind. His face soaked with a mixture of slush and blood, Aidan stared up at Kynthia with twin eyes full of fear and awe. The moon must have returned; a bluish-white light glinted in Aidan's silver eyes and Kynthia could feel the power of the full moon race up her back and through her limbs.

"No… Not another one… Not her."

* * *

><p>Two figures, donned in standard issue Fire Nation armor, strolled lazily on top deck of a impressive Fire Nation warship. The Nation's standard whipped gently in the arctic air; the moon had even made its way out from what the two figures guessed was a lunar eclipse. The one figure, towering over the other, leaned on the deck's railing, gazing out into the beautiful nighttime scenery.<p>

"You know, despite all of the heckling we put up with, this isn't a bad job," the tall sailor said, looking over his shoulder at his comrade.

"We?" the shorter man asked with a laugh, "You mean the supply corp. right?"

His shorter compatriot turned and leaned backwards against the cold railing, staring up at the bright, glimmering stars.

"Yeah, the supply corp… or as the rest of the Fleet calls us, the Shell Shovelers… " the tall man grimaced, once again looking out on the Fleet's flank and, like always, expecting to see nothing surprising.

"Wha-?"

But the towering sailor couldn't believe what happened next. It came quietly and filled the night sky with its power; the horizon was split with a sword of electric white light. It pulsed for only a moment and disappeared with a hush, but the image was burned forever in the back of the sailor's eyes. For a moment, the sailor didn't know which was whiter: the jagged ice that surrounded his humble supply ship or his clenched knuckles around the frozen railing.

"Notify the Admiral…" he whispered

"Hmm?" the shorter sailor asked lazily, looking over his shoulder at his comrade.

"Notify the Admiral! Quickly! They're there, over there! I just saw it, what the Priests described, it was right there!" The towering sailor shouted, pointing over the railing at horizon.

"Wha-?"

"Now, go!"

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Please leave a review, it'll only take a few seconds! This chapter was a torture to write, so I'd appreciate any criticism! And to my favorite reader, Happy Birthday! I hope you like it!<p> 


	8. The Seeker

A/N: Sorry for the LONG wait, but its finally here! Please, please, please review! Help me be a better writer! Thanks!

* * *

><p>Sparked like the ignition of a Fire Nation blowtorch, Aidan's body went into survival mode, his eyes and tattoos exploding with divine, golden power. Inside the swirling behemoth of snow and ice before him, Aidan could see her figure rising above the ground, arms outstretched. The monstrous roar of the cyclone brutally strong-armed Aidan's desperate yells and calls, and the ice beneath his boots shook with animalistic fury. Heavy chunks and vicious shards of ice whizzed past Aidan's cringing body and the unbelievable strength of the winter gusts threatened to upend the Earthbender completely. Despite all of this, there was a serene moment in the elemental chaos and destruction where Aidan simply marveled at the power and strength of the young Waterbender; this, however, was quickly dissolved as the horror of the entire situation finally dawned on him.<p>

"No… Not another one… Not her…"

Through his own golden eyes, the telltale signs of the Awakening of another Acolyte were and ice that had engulfed him, but there was something different. It _felt _different.

Aidan could feel the elements around him straining to bend to the will of Kynthia. The ice shelf beneath his feet groaned and protested with every gunshot-like crack; the snow had transformed from fluff to slush to spinets of razor sharp ice in the hurricane-strength gusts. Liquid water slithered its way up through Aidan's boots and into his clothes with a reptilian mind of its own. It slowly began to crystallize, threatening to freeze him in place, binding him permanently. However, these terrifying conditions would have normally left the battle-hardened Aidan relatively indifferent, save for one thing: the additional element.

At first, he thought it was simply a regular storm. A normal, temperamental Northern storm. Travelers spoke about them in shady Earth Kingdom taverns and Kynthia herself had spoken to Aidan about them on the ferry to the Northern Ice Shelf. But this storm was feeding off of something much more powerful than ocean currents and jet streams. The cataclysmic cyclone howled and snarled with barbaric ferociousness unlike any other storm Aidan could have ever imagined, and then, as his golden eyes fell upon the glowing girl in the midst of it, it clicked.

"KYNTHIA!" Aidan roared, but it was futile against the vicious wind.

He had to calm her down, hide her, protect her… if the Fire Nation found out she could Airbend… they would torture her about the last true Airbender until she died. Aidan would not let that destiny steal her away.

"KYNTHIA, CALM DOWN!"

Kynthia's eyes narrowed in anger and snapped to his gaze. Aidan felt his stomach fall through his body; the intensity of her electric-blue aura made him, for one of the first times, fear for his own life.

"PLEASE, YOU MUST-"

"I am not one to be ordered around any longer."

If Aidan hadn't seen her lit mouth move, he wouldn't have believed she had spoken. Kynthia's voice was marauded by several other voices; the combined chorus produced a bone-chilling, but commanding vociferation. But Aidan was not one to wince and falter under a command. Gritting his teeth, Aidan summoned all of his spiritual energy, his tattoos and eyes exploding with a light that flowed like liquid gold.

"I'm trying to protect you!"

"No," the voice bellowed overtop the roaring cyclone, "you are trying to control me!"

Aidan could feel the wind becoming stronger and stronger with every passing second.

"You leave me no choice, Kynthia!"

Aidan's eyes flew open wide as he called upon all the strength in his body to shift his stance forward. With a roar and a shove, Aidan's hands ignited in golden flame, forming a divine plume that drove back the gusting wind toward its enraged bender. Overtop the deafening gusts and searing golden fire, Aidan could sense Kynthia's quickly increasing anxiety and fear and this taste of victory powered the Firebender forward through the icy harshness of the Northern tundra. Each gut-retching step toward Kynthia was a momentous and desperate battle in of itself, but Aidan could feel his bending triumphing over hers.

_She may be powerful… but I've been at this game longer…_

From a distance, the colossal battle waging in the emptiness of that particular Northern Ice Shelf was truly extraordinary. Aidan's small, yet dense plume of golden fire defiantly roared against Kynthia's large, uncontrolled winterized tornado. Within moments, Aidan found himself nearly directly under Kynthia, whose divine eyes were wide with fear and shock. Bending a constant, roaring jet of air, Kynthia held out one hand against Aidan's massive fireball, causing it to peel away in all directions. For a split second, the two extraordinary benders were equally matched in the glittering openness of the arctic; the clashes of gold and electric-blue flicked across the reflective landscape like a chest full of sapphires and coins.

"Stay away from me!" Kynthia's voice roared with command, but it rang with a dash of fear. Aidan's animalistic warrior spirit snarled for glory, gnawing and gnashing at the smell of victory.

With a diehard battle yell and his eyes flashing with blinding golden light, Aidan threw his arms down behind him and blasted himself into Kynthia's floating body. The instant his blood-soaked shoulder connected with her hovering body, Aidan's vision was seared by an intense blue light and his tattoos felt like they had been pressed with a white-hot brand. Blinded, bloodied, and nauseous with pain, Aidan nevertheless locked his arms around Kynthia's falling, limp body and pulled her close.

There was a great crack, a flash of white light, and black, stone-like silence.

* * *

><p>Aidan awoke with a start, gritted his teeth, and groaned: His body felt like it had gotten smashed by a boulder. Without warning, his gut lurched and Aidan coughed, spraying an ugly fan of blood onto the otherwise immaculately clean floor. His watery eyes struggled to comprehend this place he found himself in. The floor felt smooth, sanitary, and fake. Like on the Northern Ice Shelf, Aidan's familiar connection with the earth was severed.<p>

_Kynthia!_

Aidan's obsidian armor screeched and scraped against the ground as he quickly swiveled to find her. There was nothing but the vast openness of this bizarre place. Aidan's heart quickened as he slowly began to absorb his isolation. His eyes felt lost in the surrounding unending whiteness; clearly, he felt a floor under his folded legs and feet, but the whiteness of the floor did not break against a horizon or four walls. The fact he could see forever in this huge place, but couldn't decipher a landmark to orient himself by made Aidan's temple pound in frustration. He quickly tore his mind from it.

"Hello?"

His voice did not echo. It fell flat in the air and died quickly in this place without boundaries. Aidan quickly took in a breath to double check if this place even had air. It did and this, thankfully, relaxed him.

"Elesia, look out!"

In an instant, Aidan spun around, heart pounding against his chest. The deep, bold voice was full of fear and urgency; it was certainly something Aidan could relate to, considering the last few weeks with Kynthia. The view that met Aidan's silvery eyes simply stunned him.

The whiteness of the limbo he had awoken in had completely disappeared. Replaced was a dirty, Fire Nation street strewn with shoddy trader's stands and abundant litter. Running like flowing curtains, the sheets of heavy rain nearly obscured anything more than ten feet from Aidan and the roar of the storm hardly allowed all but the loudest shout to penetrate it. Suddnely, he found himself stumbling forward in the storm, holding his hand at a bizarre salute to shield his eyes from the rain.

"Who's there?" Aidan called into the trashed corridor. In an instant, the pop of a lit blowtorch pierced the rain and an interesting sight filled Aidan's hungry eyes.

A young, slim woman limped into view, one of her hands holding her bloodied shoulder and the other creating an intense, small jet of white-hot fire. Her fingers were brought together over the palm of her hand in a cone-like fashion; the flame created was nothing like Aidan had ever seen a Firebender do before. In the concentrated, pure white light emanating from the woman's uninjured hand, Aidan could easily see the panic in the woman's hazelnut eyes.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. We need to get him to my sister's!"

The athletic woman winced again at the pain in her shoulder. Diluted crimson stained half of her white, sleeveless shirt; racing trails of blood slithered down her arm and into her gloved hand like creeping vines. A single, wide leather strap raced across her chest, undoubtedly holding some kind of pouch at her back. Her lower half appeared to be donned with welder's chaps, however, the normal tool pockets and pouches were filled with an assortment of knives and other gadgets. Dirtied, silver goggles had been stretched over her head; her short, natural spiked jet-black hair glinted evilly in the flashes of lightening that scorched the night sky. Aidan's gut defensively lurched as a flash of lightening clearly lit a Fire Nation engineer's insignia branded into her blackened chaps.

"Are you sure he'll be safe there?" a rushed, young man's voice emanated from the shadows.

The female engineer spun around, splashing the man's face with light.

_His… eyes…_

The man's mirror-like eyes resembled pools of quicksilver in the torch's white light. His jaw was square and seemingly chiseled from stone, but a deep scar ran clear across one of his silver eyes, forming the only blemish on the man's face. His dark, chestnut hair was pulled back into a short ponytail.

"What happened to you?" the woman exclaimed, jumping back a few steps.

The resulting angle between the two figures allowed Aidan to see the man in his entirety. His black, leather armor reflected the woman's torch easily; the rain had glossed the leather plates with a natural, smooth polish. A quiver and bow had been hastily thrown over the man's back, signaling to Aidan that the man was somewhat of an archer. But the man's dark brown gloves appeared lumpy and unwieldy, which caused Aidan to question his initial judgment.

"By the Spirits, are you ok?"

Surrounded by singed leather armor, the man's upper thigh smoked with a recent wound that had been clearly issued by a Fire Nation soldier. Aidan couldn't believe the man was still alive; whoever had attacked the man had intently scorched a hole deep down to the bone, incinerating everything between there and the surface of the man's handcrafted armor, in a apparent effort to kill. Aidan's eyebrow jumped with unexpected surprise when he heard the man exert a small but tired laugh.

"We need to get him safety. We come last," he grimaced to the ground, leaning on his one good leg, "He must live, Elesia."

"But what if-"

"Elesia," he said with an uncanny, recognizable grin that made Aidan's eyebrow jump, "it's not like we haven't done this before. We will get him to safety, I promise."

For a brief moment, the woman's watery eyes locked with the man's silver ones, communicating unsaid things about the bundle that was surely attached to the woman's back. The secure pouch squirmed slightly, but otherwise remained motionless and, lovingly, protected.

"Give him up."

An ice cold, commanding voice ricocheted through the filthy alley. The rain itself seemed chilled and frightened by the eeriness of the new voice; the sheets of rain ceased to fall, leaving only rogue droplets to fall from the remnants of the market stands that littered the street. The archer and the engineer swiveled into a back-to-back position: the engineer's face was contorted with rage, her lit hands aggressively poised forward, and the archer had nocked an arrow at light speed, his eyes narrowed into the surrounding darkness.

"You can't be serious," the cool voice sneered, "A simple Army welder and a disgraced Dai Li agent against us…"

Aidan's eyes flicked between them all. They sulked out of the shadows and debris like snakes weaving out of a river root wad, deliberately slow and methodical as they stalked their prey. Their uniforms were clearly Fire Nation infantry issue, but these were not standard soldiers. Their helmets were adorned with a spindle of five, vicious spikes, all of which curved upwards toward the night sky. Three unnatural slits in the ghoul-white face of their helms served as unnerving eyeholes. Aidan noticed a glossy, black sheen in their thick armor; clearly, these soldiers were given the honor of utilizing the protection of obsidian.

"Give us the boy or you will die. It's that simple."

The leader of the Imperial Firebenders melted out of the shadows into the trashed alley. A single white strip crossed his helm in a diagonal fashion, signaling his superiority.

_No!_

The thought escaped Aidan's mind before he even knew what was going on. Glancing down, Aidan found his obsidian-armored right hand gripping the fur-lined hilt of a strange, bluish-white knife. It looked highly exotic; the jaw of a wolf had been built in behind the slicing edge of the blade. For a moment, Aidan curiously examined the blade before coming to a startling realization.

_Wait, when did I draw that?_

The Imperial Firebender leader didn't move. His gaze was locked on the two extraordinary, athletic figures in the center of the dirty alley. Other Firebenders were perched like hawks atop the shoddy and filthy building surrounding the dripping alley, their shard-like eyeholes trained on the figures with equal intensity.

"This is your last chance. Give me the boy."

Time seemed to slow for a moment. The two figures dropped their stance slightly, akin to that of a deer preparing to flee imminent danger. Aidan's sharp ears gently heard the archer exhale; the quick _thip_ of the released bowstring snapped the pre-battle silence like a twig.

"KILL THEM!"

And then, in an instant, Aidan's ears and eyes were filled with unimaginable chaos. Not knowing why or how, he sprinted off into the furious fight, dodging the falling bodies and leaping over strewn debris. Some kind of unknown force was pulling him forward toward the two figures, who were vigorously defending themselves in the center of the street. He felt a strange, exotic, and burning need, want, and desire to aid and protect them, but Aidan wasn't sure why.

"There's another!"

"Kill him with the others!"

The closest Firebender swiftly turned and threw a bolt of fire at Aidan, but then Aidan felt his legs lurch and launch him away from danger. With a skillful roll, Aidan found himself on his feet again, charging forward at the enraged Firebender. The bluish-white dagger flashed in and out of his vision as he sprinted feverously toward his target, who was backing away, desperately firing flames at his attacker. Aidan swung his left elbow across the side of the Firebender's helmet, doubling the man over. With a dexterous move, Aidan rolled over the man's back, quickly slicing the unprotected space between the man's helm and back armor. The Firebender folded like a ragdoll, his muscles limp from instantaneous paralysis.

Before Aidan could relish his victory another bolt of fire grazed the edge of his dark hood. He swiveled on the spot, ducking to avoid another ball of flame, and sprinted off toward his attacker. This Imperial Firebender had gained intelligence at the expense of the life of his fallen comrade. Aidan's dodges were anticipated; close calls quickly turned into direct hits against his armor.

"Give up, you thief!" the Firebender roared, blasting flame after flame into Aidan's shoulder armor.

_No more!_

Suddenly, Aidan felt power seep into his _veins_ and snake up through his arms. In an odd, forigen fluid fashion, Aidan moved, launching a thousand ice needles into the attacking Firebender's armor. The Firebender was stunned for moment before falling backwards into a muddy puddle, but Aidan thought to be even more confused and stunned at what just happened. In the silence of his kill, he gazed down at his armored hands for a moment before the burning motivation in his stomach pulled him back into the battle.

As if guided by some otherworldly puppeteer, Aidan fluidly moved through the chaos, dispatching foe after foe. Through the smoke and fire, Aidan could feel his targets grow closer and his heart began to race faster with exhilaration. Another foe, another twirl, the slash of the dagger, the thrill of the kill: These feelings surged through Aidan's mind and body, electrifying his senses. He was so close now, so close!

"Aidan."

And then, everything froze around him. Rain droplets slowed and then ceased to fall entirely. The blood on Aidan's dagger remained a brilliant red, but stiffened as if it had instantly congealed .The Firebender in front of Aidan never reached the ground after stumbling backwards in surprise. An earthly, dark arrow was peacefully suspended in the stasis chaos while white-hot torch-like flames shooting through another unlucky Firebender's armor calmed from their deathly, jumping dance. Aidan tried to move, but he too was impeded in this bizarre state. Then, softly, there was a touch on Aidan's shoulder and a brilliant flash of white light.

"Don't be alarmed," the deep, calm voice said, "You are in a safe place."

Aidan quickly looked down at himself. The obsidian armor that had once covered his body was replaced by the torn and bloodied Tribal parka that Kynthia had purchased for him. His hands were not scraped and scabbed, but an exotic, bluish-white dagger nor a sheath on his belt was found. It took a moment, but Aidan realized that he was finally free of the invisible puppeteer's control. His thoughts were not simple thoughts any longer; he could move his body and limbs at free will. Lost in his excitement, Aidan almost nearly forgot to glance over at his savior.

"You are probably feeling a little confused right now."

"Very. Who are you?"

The source of the calming voice was a tall, muscular man, sitting peacefully cross-legged on a purple, silk pillow. His skin was rather pale, almost grey, and a matching purple blindfold covered his eyes. While he was shirtless, he wore simple white pants and sandals.

"I am a servant of the Spirits. They call me the Seeker."

Aidan raised an eyebrow at this.

"The Seeker? You're blind. Why would the Spirits have a blind seeker?"

The Seeker chuckled at this. He motioned his hand to a pillow beside him to his right.

"Ah, Aidan, you have always impressed me with your quickness. Please, take a seat."

Usually, Aidan would have been apprehensive at an invitation to sit next to complete and total stranger, but the ranger found solace in this man. His voice, demeanor, and appearance all indicated that he was truly something from the Spirit World, and his only mission was to inform, not harm.

"I'm surprised you're not alarmed at what you just lived through, Aidan," the Seeker commented, sweeping his hand out to the peacefully frozen, yet chaotic battle in front of them, "Do you know who these people are?"

Aidan's eyes focused on the frantic, teeth-baring engineer. Her face was contorted into fury as she drove her torch-like fist through the Firebender's torso.

"Is that my mother?" Aidan asked, pointing at the rogue Fire Nation engineer.

"Yes, her name is Elesia as I'm sure you already know," the Seeker said simply, "and the former Dai Li elite archer, Aeson, your father."

While Aeson's arrow had been just released, the experienced Dai Li agent had already reacted to another incoming threat. Aeson's free hand was outstretched behind him and oddly clenched with white-knuckle ferocity around thin air. Following his father's silver eyes, Aidan's line of sight connected with a signature Dai Li stone glove: it was closed with a crushing grip around an Imperial Firebender's throat. Aeson himself appeared to be calm and calculating in great contrast to his wife, whose expression shone with defiance and untamed rebellion.

But then Aidan's eyes flowed onto the mysterious, hooded figure with the brilliant blue dagger. He was in the air above the backwards-stumbling Firebender, dagger swinging forward to satisfy its wolf-like hunger.

"I was in his body?"

"Yes," the Seeker responded, "They called him Borealan. He is something of a… long lost relative to you. Here, in the last moments of your parents' lives, he was trying to save them and, more importantly, you."

Aidan glanced at his parents and felt a twinge of sadness but nothing more. The concept of parents or guardians had never been firmly rooted in Aidan's mind, thus the thought of his actual parents dying made really no difference to him. In a way, it was hard for Aidan feel sad about losing something he never had.

"Why?"

The Seeker waved his hand and the frozen alley melted into nothingness. In the void of whiteness that surrounded him, Aidan had only the blind Seeker to guide him.

"There are things you must understand, Aidan, things about you, your past, and your powers. We only have enough time for a few things, so you must listen intently. Do you understand?"

Aidan eyed the Seeker for a moment, trying to determine how much trust and faith he should put into the forthcoming information.

"I understand."

The Seeker breathed deeply and shifted his shoulders. He gestured his hand to a space directly in front of the pair.

"When the Energybenders split into the four Nations long ago, the Spirits created the Avatar, the physical embodiment of the four Spirits in the mortal realm. He, or she, alone could control and master the four elements, and the Spirits used the Avatar as a tool to balance the world, for better… or for worse-"

"For worse," Aidan interjected, "I thought the Avatar was always used for good?"

The Seeker chuckled at this statement, and Aidan immediately felt childish. To believe that something will always be true or good or best for the world is entirely foolish; Aidan had learned this early on.

"You have already answered your own question," the Seeker said wisely before sighing, "No, unfortunately, in the early years, the Avatar did not have the multiple past lives to help guide its current reincarnation… Thus, the Avatar was more subject to human emotions… and mistakes. The Spirits would allow this behavior, so as to let the world learn that its utter dependence on the Avatar to bring peace and happiness was not always sound. Sometime after the Early Period when the four Nations lived divide, yet serene, the world finally understood that the current Avatar must be nurtured and raised in a way that imbedded the values of peace and happiness deep within his, or her, mindset. Thus began a long line of Avatars that believed that they were the ultimate peacekeepers of the world and the problem seemed to solve itself.

Yet, the Spirits are not foolish. In the Early Period, when the accountability of the Avatar could be questioned, the Spirits created four Acolytes to aid or destroy the Avatar's abilities. They believed four extraordinary benders plus the Avatar created a much sturdier foundation to balance world peace on than simply the Avatar himself."

Aidan's mind whirled for a moment, unsure if the question bouncing around in head was worthy of asking.

"You want to know exactly what you are?" the Seeker said with a smile. Aidan felt sheepish, but nodded in agreement.

"I know what they call me… I know what I can do… I'm not sure why, though…"

The Seeker again gestured his hand in front of him. Four shadowy silhouettes formed, two male and two female. Aidan immediately locked on to his recognizable figure which instantaneously materialized. His smoking figure stood attentive, stalwart and tall; glistening black hexagons lay under his tattered, pitch-black tunic and leggings. Aidan recognized his bow and quiver slung across his back; his trusty dagger was also sheathed as his side. Aidan raised an eyebrow and nodded in approval, feeling slightly smug.

"You are the pure Acolyte of the Fire and Earth Spirits. Inside of your heart burns a passion for glory and righteousness, yet you keep your head out of the clouds and securely fashioned to earthly matters at hand."

There was a moment where Aidan mulled this over in his mind.

"You said I was the _pure _Acolyte of Fire and Earth," Aidan asked, eye narrowed, "Are there non-pure Acolytes… and what does that mean?"

"Great question, Aidan," the Seeker said appreciatively before explaining, "Think of the four elements: Fire, Earth, Wind, and Water. Now imagine the two combinations of elements that do not go together in nature in any form."

_Fire and Water. Earth and Wind._

"Precisely," the Seeker responded, "To combine elements that do not naturally go together creates turmoil in a mortal. Generally, these Acolytes are the most powerful, but often the most unstable, and greatly susceptible to their human emotions."

"And the pure Acolytes?"

"Often go unnoticed."

The flame of pride in Aidan's chest, small as it was, flickered and threatened to go out.

"In years past, the tormented Acolytes have destroyed the pure as to eliminate any opposition outside of the Avatar," the Seeker explained morosely, then changing his tone, "But it has not always been the case. A pure Acolyte seeks balance and truth in his or her life, rather than power and glory. They are the unsung heroes, the unrecorded champions of the world's balance…"

Aidan let his mind wonder for a moment before breaking his glassy gaze, and focused on the shadowy, feminine figure next to his.

"Kynthia?"

"Exactly," the Seeker confirmed and her figure materialized. She looked just as Aidan remembered her, but her eyes were full of cunning and the smirk across her face shone with mischief. She looked bold, confident and curious; Aidan had yet to see these things in her fully mature.

"And the others?" he asked, his eyes trying to fit a persona to the shadow-like, moving silhouettes.

Aidan felt the Seeker shift, as if to say something, but another voice rang throughout the abyss with unprecedented loudness.

"Aidan…"

Suddenly, Aidan's arms and legs felt like they had been soaked in ice cold water and a blinding, blue filled his eyes.

"Seeker!" Aidan cried out, astonished at what was happening, "What is going on?"

The Seeker slowly stood and began to walk away without a sound. Aidan had barely noticed him; the calming light was becoming stronger and stronger, and the soft voice again called his name.

"Seeker! When will I see you again?"

"The time merits it! Good luck in your travels, Acolyte."

Aidan's eyes grew wide; an ocean of calming light filled his senses and purged his mind.

And soon he could breathe again.

* * *

><p>Cold, biting winter air rushed into Aidan's lungs as his body arched to contain it. His waking reflex fired like a pistol and Aidan forcefully flung the heavy blankets from his body. His fingers drunkenly stumbled for the side of the bed he was laying on, desperate to find their bearings and assist lifting Aidan from his stunned state. Cracking open his eyes, a bizarre, white glow smeared his vision, shying them into thin, knifelike squints.<p>

Suddenly, his vision went to black and his body was thrown back into the hard, makeshift bed. The winterized air fled from his lungs, replaced by a sweet, fresh smelling scent that caressed and warmed his heart and lungs. The pressure against his body carried the warmth like the blankets he had thrown from his body, but there was a subdue, yet distinct difference: the heat was not static. It pulsed with caring and concern, ticking along with his own heartbeat. A hot, humid sigh rushed past his right ear; something soft and smooth squeezed his torso harder and harder. His vision was still dark, but not completely blacked-out. Lit lines of deep hazelnut flowed through his sight like the grain pattern of a polished wooden chest.

The overwhelming flood against his senses spun Aidan's mind, whirling it into complete, but strangely peaceful confusion. His hands and arms involuntarily folded awkwardly over the sensory source, as if they were unsure if they were supposed to defend their attached body from an unknown threat. But then, like someone had poured a pitcher of cool, fresh water over top the crown of his head, her voice, choked by tears, flowed through his mind.

"Aidan… I'm so sorry..."

Aidan breathed deep the smell of her hair and closed his eyes, burying his face in her. He held her tight in an effort draw pain, regret and guilt from her weary body… and when the morning sun weakly shone across the endless arctic North, Aidan felt like he had done just that.

* * *

><p>AN: Review? :D I'm really begging this chapter for some reason lol.


	9. The Tome

A/N: Ah! I need to leave for work soon! Enjoy guys!

* * *

><p>"Are you ready yet?" Kynthia yelled. She had been dressed and armored for nearly a half an hour, but Aidan was holding her up.<p>

"Look," Aidan's retort fired back, "its not easy pulling all of this armor over the _numerous _lacerations over my body!"

"You know I fixed you up as best I could!" Kynthia shouted, but without anger, "I healed everything life-threatening!"

A barely inaudible mumble floated from the icy room adjacent to Kynthia, but she simply laughed and continued mindlessly adjusting Aidan's old armor around her upper arm. A few days had passed since Kynthia had dragged Aidan's limp body into her old Waterbending training cave and tended to his multiple, critical injuries. There had been hundreds of knifelike cuts over his forearms and face; Aidan's parka looked like it had been shredded to pieces; the most alarming wound was the huge gash across Aidan's head, caused undoubtedly by a large fall into the rock-hard ice.

_And I caused all of it…_

Kynthia's hands continued to fumble with the armor, but her brilliant green eyes glassed over into a hue of soft jade.

_The sight of Aidan's golden glowing body wincing in the pain and the prowess of her colossal arctic storm cut an evil smile into her face. Her outstretched arms in front of her reflected the divine, blue light emanating from her eyes and mouth; this power was something wonderful, unworldly, and precious. She would never be controlled by anyone ever again. Not the Water Tribe. Not her father. Not even another Acolyte._

_ But then Aidan was yelling something. A burst of flame seared her vision, and Kynthia threw out a hand in defense. Suddenly, it became clear to her, this art of bending Air… it felt slightly similar to Waterbending, but there was something strikingly different. The Chi in her body wasn't locked in the Air like it was usually in the Water; she had to move the Chi in her body with the jet of Air, allowing the Chi to push the Air toward Aidan's defiant attack…_

An unnatural breeze swayed Kynthia's hair for a moment, but quickly dissipated into nothingness.

_ She was falling fast, Aidan's slick, bloodied arms clenched in a vice grip around her midsection. An unworldly crack fired into the arctic as Aidan's head smashed against the ice; his silver eyes rolled back into his head, leaving only unnerving whites staring back at Kynthia. Blood painted the side of his face, pooling swiftly under his cheek…_

_ Everything went dark, and, when Kynthia awoke, she was robotically dragging Aidan's body across the Northern Ice Shelf. A steady stripe of pink stained the arctic behind her; Aidan's bleeding had lessened, but had not completely sealed itself away…_

_ Suddenly, she was home, back in her own ice cave, the same one her older brother showed her years before. The main training room, the bedrooms, the pillars, everything was exactly the way she remembered it. Excitement raced through her heart, but, as she swung around examining her old home, her emerald eyes fell upon Aidan's body. It was laying on one of her fur-covered ice slabs; Kynthia's stomach lurched as the image of a morgue flashed through her mind. Aidan's usually sun-beaten tan had faded into a deathly whitish-gray; the only color to his skin was the blood that stained it. Kynthia could feel her hands shaking with fear and shock, nausea leapt into her throat… there was nothing she could do and Aidan was going to die here, right here in front of her…_

_ There was a crack like thunder and Kynthia's vision burst with white static. Blind as she was, her hands moved swiftly to Aidan's wound simultaneously bending a pool of cold, arctic water over his temple. But something was wrong, something different; Kynthia was no Healer… And then whiteness of her vision faded in an instant, and Kynthia stared, in disbelief, down at her hands._

_ Overtop of the bluish glowing orb of water, two obsidian-armored hands skillfully traced the Chi lines in Aidan's skull as per standard Healing doctrine. But Kynthia had never been trained in such a thing. Nor had she ever taken upon herself to fashion armored gauntlets of obsidian… the sheer idea was absurd and Kynthia found herself fumbling to comprehend what she was seeing…_

"Kynthia!"

Her eyes snapped out of her memories. She spun quickly. Aidan was standing in the doorway of her small room, an eyebrow curiously raised.

"I've yelled your name about three times now," he said slowly, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Kynthia lied with a forced grin, "Fine. I was just lost in my thoughts."

There was a moment of silence within which Aidan clearly did not buy her lie. He eyed her for a moment before giving a sigh and a grin.

"So," he began, "Are you ready?"

The sparkle in his silver eyes was almost too much for Kynthia to handle; his excitement was paramount at the prospect of battle.

"I can't believe you want to do this."

"I'm doing it for you!" he replied laughing before adding with a serious overtone, "You know you need this."

It had been one of the first things Aidan pressed when he was halfway healed. Kynthia's combat skills were impulsive at best; her actions on previous battlefields had been nearly pure luck or otherwise aided by surprise. But Aidan was convinced she could not hold her own in an established fight, one in which Kynthia would have to defend herself from multiple enemies without any kind of upper-hand advantage. Kynthia felt slightly angered by this, but was quick to resolve her feelings. It was ultimately true, and to learn from someone who was as skilled and practiced as Aidan was an opportunity not to be passed.

"Fine," she said with a smirk, "But if I hit one of your _numerous lacerations_, I don't want to hear a peep out of you."

Kynthia knocked him in the shoulder as she confidently strode past the dumbstruck Earthbender. Spinning on her toes to face Aidan, she flung her limbs out into an aggressive Waterbending posture, staring down the back of Aidan's bandaged head. Aidan turned around, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her.

"What do you think you're doing?"

The smile-at-the-dumb-child look smeared across his face spiked Kynthia's temper. She refused to break out of her bending stance.

"What do you mean?" she asked, quickly adding, "Stop stalling, let's fight!"

"No."

Aidan walked slowly toward Kynthia. His boots stopped with a click right in front of her outstretched hands.

"Put them down," he said, gently pushing her hands toward the icy floor, "I cannot teach you how to Waterbend yourself out of dangerous situation. You'll learn that with time."

Suddenly, he skillfully leapt backwards from her, his boots skidding across the icy floor as his stance reverted to a defensive crouch. A black, obsidian dagger grinned from his gloved hand. Aidan held the weapon backwards, having the glossy black blade run down the back of his forearm. From behind his blade, a stoic visage pierced Kynthia's eyes.

"Many powerful benders have been slain in battle because they don't know how to defend themselves when their bending fails. They don't have a secondary combat system when their Chi is blocked, making them easier to slay than a domesticated cow," he explained behind his dagger, staring Kynthia down, "Attack me, disarm me, incapacitate me. Come at me, try to kill me."

Kynthia didn't know what to do. Her congested mind froze her there, her arms goofily at her side in her Waterbending stance.

"Fight me!" he shouted, his eyes narrowing.

"Aidan, I don't know how!" Kynthia yelled. She found herself standing now, her stance broken, " What am I suppose-"

"FIGHT ME, KILL ME!"

"Aidan!" she pleaded.

Kynthia instinctively leapt to the side as a blur of obsidian streaked her vision. Aidan's dagger stuck in the opposite ice wall with a loud crack.

"What do you thin-"

Kynthia's anger-fueled shout was quickly cut off by Aidan's palm connecting with her chest. She hadn't even seen him coming; one moment, the dagger zipped by her, and the next, Aidan was merely a few feet away, throwing blows.

Kynthia felt her body fly and scrape against the icy floor, but her mind was suddenly in a different state. She could sense the adrenaline pumping through her veins, her breathes became more and more efficient and deep, her vision lost color but sharpened to inhuman levels. Kynthia snarled and focused her gaze on Aidan's pursuing form.

From her sprawled form on the icy floor, the world around Kynthia began to slow down. Aidan's boot fell toward the ice like a hawk's feather. With an echoing click through the bare room, Aidan's heel struck the ground and its sound resonated in waves throughout Kynthia's mind. Suddenly, everything became clear; her muscles fired, throwing her prone body into a spiral. The bridge of her winter boot caught Aidan's Achilles tendon like a hook; his unbalanced body slammed to the rock-hard floor in an instant. Kynthia used the rest of her momentum to spin triumphantly upwards.

"I can handle your-"

A streak of black raced past Kynthia's ducking head as Aidan arose with a vengeance. Blow after blow fired into a flurry as Aidan tried to strike Kynthia down, but, strangely, she felt at ease dodging it all. Her instinctive moments felt akin to her Waterbending; she flowed with each sidestep, one after another, flowing around and through Aidan's blows. A laughing smile crept across her face with each successful dodge; she could feel the air around her and Aidan rapidly heating; he was clearly becoming frustrated.

"You need to fight back, Kynthia!" he roared, "Don't make me actually try to hit you!"

"Please," Kynthia jeered back, "I've figured you out!"

But Kynthia was wrong. Instantly, she felt Aidan close in and slam a palm into her chest. Her muscles seized up; her breath was stolen from her as she flew through the air. Her vision spiked was she smashed through an ice wall, sending shards of pain into her bare forearms.

"Ugh.." Kynthia groaned, brushing her hair from her face. Blood dripped down onto her nose from her hand; she quickly smeared it away. Aidan's boots came clicking into range.

"You look fine," he said quickly, examining her forearms and face before losing focus on something behind Kynthia.

"Thanks for the compassion," she retorted with a sarcastic flair. She had the immediate urge to freeze him there in a block of ice, but, suddenly, her curiosity pulled her emotions away from Aidan. She turned and her shining green eyes opened up in wonder.

"Aidan… what…"

Kynthia couldn't believe it. She had never even _felt _this place before. The fake wall she had broken through had gone undetected for years; Kynthia had spent thousands of hours practicing her Waterbending, connecting with the Moon Spirit, and meditating in this cave, yet she had never sensed this room of grandeur scale. Whoever had carved its intricate pillars and enormous clear dome had truly been a great artist… or a highly skilled Waterbender.

Aidan lifted Kynthia to her feet. He too was lost in the wonder of it all, the massive volume of the room and its sparkling, glistening beauty. His silver eyes scanned the room, but they were clearly lost behind his racing thoughts.

"I… I remember this place…" he barely mumbled, "...long time ago…"

Kynthia's eyebrow rose. She quickly stood and turned around to face him.

"Wait, what?" she asked, confused, "Say that again so I know I wasn't imagining something."

He stumbled forward over the jagged ice littering the hall's slick floor. Something had grasped Aidan by his conscious and refused to let go. He walked, transfixed, through the mesmerizing and beautiful domed structure.

"Aidan," Kynthia said more seriously as she ran after him, "Aidan, you're acting weir-"

Suddenly, he froze in the exact center of the hall. His head snapped to the wall to his right; his sharp silver eyes were clearly focused on something beyond the boundaries of the ice.

"Kynthia," he said normally, calming Kynthia's nerves, "I need your help."

He mentioned to his side and Kynthia heeded the beckoning. She looked at the innocent-looking wall over his shoulder, curiosity pumping through her heart.

"On the count of three," he said, still gazing at the unknown object, "I need you to protect us from the ice."

Kynthia raised an eyebrow, but decided to hold her questions.

"Ok. I'm ready."

"One, two… three!"

Suddenly, Aidan widened his legs into an Earthbender's stance and struggled to pull something from the wall. Kynthia immediately reacted; she stepped forward, poised to turn any ice shrapnel into harmless vapor. Aidan grunted and flexed, but whatever source of earth on the other side of the wall was too great for him to unlock. He gave one last heave and relaxed, his arms flying to his side. Kynthia looked back at him over her shoulder.

"Wow," he breathed, placing his hands on his knees, "That didn't exactly work…"

A bead of sweat dripped down the side of his hairline, but his silver eyes remained focused on his goal.

_He's not going to give up._

In the blink of an eye, Aidan was in his Earthbending stance again. His steel eyes became sharpened like knives and his teeth were barbarically bore in the direction of the wall; the veins in his forearms bulged and his lean muscles flexed beneath his bandages as his hands snapped into curled fists. Kynthia swiftly faced the wall again. Aidan was going to break through, she could feel it…

There was a flash of golden light and the icy wall seemingly detonated. Kynthia was ready; with an upward movement of her hands, she sent the majority of the icy daggers into the domed ceiling. The few stragglers were materialized into steam before any harm could be done to the pair; Kynthia's eyes narrowed into the clearing vapor, dying to examine whatever Aidan had found.

"Kynthia, move!"

Kynthia instinctively dove out of the way and Aidan gave the earth one last, monstrous tug. Straining and popping, the icy floor struggled to handle the newfound weight Aidan pulled across it. Crouched from her dive, Kynthia watched in wonder as the massive cube of obsidian screeched across the floor like a runaway train with its brakes engaged. Aidan's eyes flew wide as the ten foot high cube refused to immobilize itself; he too took a leap to the side, sliding to stop at Kynthia's side. The cube slammed into the opposite wall and the vibrations resonated across the entire structure.

"This is incredible… I can't believ-"

"Aidan!"

Kynthia jumped up and stood over Aidan's rising form, throwing her hands toward the shattered dome. The colossal bricks of ice detonated around her, sending ice shards flicking at her skin. Adrenline pumping, she quickly pulled a thick sheet of ice over her head with a swift, arcing motion and prayed they wouldn't be crushed. A sharp crack thundered through her ears and the dome of ice around her and Aidan spiderwebbed with fractures, but, thankfully, her impromptu structure held fast. Aidan whistled and looked up at Kynthia.

"So that's why I keep you around," he said with a grin. Kynthia laughed, pulling down the ice dome around them.

"I'm sure I'll actually get a real 'Thank you.' one of these days."

"Don't hold your breath."

But as their eyes slowly turned to the massive cube in front of them, breath was something neither one of them had. The block stood stalwartly and proud as it had for, what Kynthia imagined, several years, but the thing itself showed no wear and tear. One of the sides was strikingly different from the other five. Clearly, someone had engineered a doorway onto one of the faces. The door contained two holes about the size of a fist and each hole was decorated with a different elemental symbol: One, a wavy, circular symbol, which Kynthia easily recognized as the international sign for Waterbending, and another, the dreaded, flaming sign of the Fire Nation.

Aidan slowly walked up to the door, placing his upon the wondrous doorway before looking back at Kynthia.

"It was made for… us."

Kynthia raised her eyebrow and cocked her hip to one side.

"Pretty dramatic, Aidan," she ridiculed with a grin.

"No, look at this system," he said excitedly, his gloved hand running over the ornate carvings, "This is incredible… I've only seen something like this in one other place."

"One other place? Where?"

"The Southern Air Temple," he said with a glance over his shoulder at her, "It's really simple. The door can only be opened by a jet of air."

"I think this," he continued, turning back to face the massive block, "is somewhat the same. Give me some room."

Kynthia nodded and took a step back. Aidan shifted in the blink of an eye.

"Hoah!" he yelled, throwing a golden, flaming fist forward.

The glossy, black structure absorbed the divine plume of fire and promptly… did nothing.

"Nice job," Kynthia quipped with a smirk. Aidan looked back, slightly annoyed.

"Get over here and help me."

Kynthia grinned and stood by Aidan's side. Together, in one fluid motion, the elements twisted under their bending and the block of obsidian stood like a permeable sentinel, assimilating the golden fire and flowing water without complaint. All of a sudden, the volcanic glass began to rumble and then, with a loud thud, the door fell open onto the icy floor. Kynthia exchanged a curious look with Aidan before they both walked into the mysterious, glassy block.

Aidan lit a flickering flame in the palm of his hand, piercing the inky blackness; the inside of the structure was as exactly as Kynthia imagined it would be. The walls and ceiling shone with the brilliance of polished, refined obsidian with every corner and face cut with unusual precision. The floor was broken by a single peculiar pedestal stood in the middle of the mystifying room and its sole occupant was an ancient, leather bound book.

Her curiosity bursting at the seams, Kynthia immediately advanced to the book and picked it up. It was clearly old; a thick layer of dusk drifted off of its cover as soon as she took it into her hands. She began to open it, but an odd, unexplainable feeling came over her. It made her want to shut the book and run like she was doing something terribly wrong.

"Here," she said quickly, wanting to get the book away from her, "I think… I think I shouldn't be reading this…"

She went to hand the book to Aidan, but he reeled away.

"I…I… No, you can read it…" he mumbled, forcing a weak smile at her as he took a step back. Kynthia raised an eyebrow.

"No," she said forcefully, "I really think this is _yours._"

Aidan fumbled the book as Kynthia shoved it into his hands. He looked it over for a second before staring up at Kynthia with pleading eyes.

"Err… Kynthia," he began, "I… I never really learned how to read…"

There was an awkward pause. Kynthia gingerly took the book back and the foreboding feeling vanished.

"Right…" she mumbled.

Using care as to not tear or crumble the pages within the tome, Kynthia cautiously cracked open the spine. The writing was ornate and amazing; whoever had graced the pages with their expert hand clearly put many hours into the beautiful calligraphy.

"_I can feel it… It's here in my bones, in my muscles, in my mind… I can feel it when I cook my food, clean my armor, sharpen my dagger…My life, finally, is coming to a quiet end…_

_I must write. I must pass this on. One day, you'll find this and I pray it helps you on your journey…"_

The pages quickly became darker and darker and eventually unreadable.

"Aidan."

"Aidan."

"Aidan!" Kynthia yelled for a third time.

"Huh? Wha-" he scrambled.

"I need some light. You're fading."

"Sorry," and the golden light once again filled the chamber.

"Thanks," Kynthia said, smiling, and then returned to the tome.

"_I guess I should start from the beginning, should tell all of it, so you'll understand. _

_I was born in the Northern Water Tribe. I was inherently gifted as a Waterbender, even more so because I was male. When I was young, I had female friends who were just as skillful as I was… but as I grew older and received training given only to men, my friends were left in healing classes and nothing more. It saddened me to see this, and, in my late teenage years, I remember vowing that I would come back to the Tribe and change things… that, sadly, never happened…_

_Kavlak…my best friend in the Tribe. We grew up together; our birthdays were mere days apart! Our Waterbending training was intense, mainly because we made it that way. We competed to see who was the best in everything… it was great fun and till this day, even after everything that has happened, I still look back on those days in envy._

_One day, the Elders of the Tribe pulled us into a special meeting. We were told we were Acolytes… masters of two elements, second only to the great, but recently absent Avatar. They told us this is why he and I were so gifted at Waterbending and how we would have to go on and master our second element… once we found out what the element was._

_Kavlak found his first. I remember the day he stole the sun from the sky, the day he took fire and made him its master. It took me longer to find that I could control the winds, but I was careful not to tell anyone outside of the Elders. I had learned Fire Lord Sozin had recently passed an executive order quarantining the Air Nomads and their respective territories… and I feared what would come next. _

_So it was settled. Kavlak was smuggled into the Fire Nation to continue his training and I was left to the war torn world to discover myself. _

_But, instead, I hid. I donned the cloak of a pure Acolyte and cast myself into the shadows of bars and taverns, stealing what I needed to survive and trying to distance myself from the world. I knew my powers were incredible, but I was afraid I would throw the world into even more imbalance. Without the Avatar, I felt like I had no right to use my Spirit-given abilities legitimately…_

_I grew into old man over the years and slowly abandoned my life of crime. I began using my powers, assisting struggling townships in the Earth Kingdom as best I could. Soon, many small villages and towns knew me by my name. They would call to me, "Borealan! Borealan!", as I walked to the market or the town blacksmith. The elders of the towns respected me for my good deeds, and, sometimes, I would hear the seamen spinning tales about me in coastal taverns. These were some of the happiest years of my life and, for once, I felt truly at peace with the world, anonymous and free…_

_I had spent my years as a young man searching for other Acolytes, but it was in vain. The others were either too crafty for me or too ordinary to detect. I wanted to reach out and share my experiences with another one like me… It is one of the many deep regrets in my life._

_It was a dark day when I heard of Kavlak again… I had lost contact with my old friend over the years. From my understanding, he remained in the Fire Nation, only returning to the Northern Water Tribe to father a son, before leaving again. My reunion with Kavlak was something I will always remember and will always regret…"_

Kynthia glanced over at Aidan, whose silvery eyes were glassed over like a fogged mirror. She quietly sighed and continued reading.

"_Kavlak had become drunk with power. With his background in Water and Firebending, Kavlak became the forefather of Lightening Generation. The Fire Nation had seen nothing like his skills before; he quickly ascended to the rank of High General and was tasked with training the Royal family in Lightening Generation. His ties with the Royalty of the Fire Nation entered him into the political world, and after this, he was never the same. He fully supported the Air Nomad genocide and even helped develop the bait-and-catch strategy of nabbing the last true Airbenders… It was sickening. I couldn't even believe I had met, much less befriended, such a wretched man before…_

_I had to stop him. The Avatar was dead and I was the only other person even close to confronting my old friend…. It pains me to remember it, much less write about it…_

_I killed him. I did it fast in the night while he slept. I wasn't looking for a drawn out battle nor a fantastic last stand… I'm a sensible man, but I'm also a Water Tribe warrior without honor. I poisoned his wife and held him down in the bed with one hand, squeezing the life out of his throat until the shaking stopped... his eyes, his striking green eyes, bloodshot and bulging; the spit hanging in his beard; his pale, grey wife lifeless in the bed next to him… I see it night after night..._

_I had killed the man, but his legacy lived on. Before fleeing the Fire Nation, I searched Kavlak's room in a fury of papers and brushes and suddenly found something that horrified me. I remember my stomach plummeting to the floor as I read the reason to why I had never found another Acolyte: Kavlak had been ordering the assassination of every discovered Acolyte, year after year. Children, infants, women… no one escaped Kavlak's paranoia-fueled power._

_But around this dark storm cloud there was a silver lining. The first piece of paper I picked up held the order for the assassination of the latest Acolyte, an infant in the Fire Nation. Kavlak had dispatched the Imperial Firebenders to carry out the deed. I was determined to stop them at any cost. I raced to the beaten-down village as fast as I could; I made it there within hours. _

_At first I didn't know exactly who the Acolyte was. There was a young woman who wore engineer's chaps adorned with throwing knives and odd, handcrafted gadgets… Her Firebending prowess was truly unique. She had managed to compact the fire into a torch-like stream around her fists; it sliced through armor effortlessly. Her fierce and rebellious personality was amplified in battle; she fought with her teeth fanged and voice yelling… The other individual was much more calm and calculating, far more disciplined than his wife. His sharp grey eyes flicked coolly around the battlefield, absorbing every bit of information available before he methodically executed his next move. His Earthbending was highly advanced; once I noticed his stone gauntlets, I knew he was ex-Dai Li. He was clearly a superb archer and his ease at cleanly landing targets was close to terrifying. _

_My mind engaged and I leapt into the frenzy, using the down pouring rain to my advantage, but, in the end, I was too late…_

_I won't recall the details. It was messy… and that's all I say._

_Amongst the bloody carnage and twisted armor, I found what I had been looking for the entire time. A small bundle attached to the back of the dead female Firebender squirmed slightly, catching my eye, and I pulled back its protective blankets. The tan baby boy had a mess of black hair and sleepy silver eyes. I smeared the blood from my palms and turned him in my armored hands; miraculously, he had no injuries, nothing. _

_Kavlak had known the boy's name: Aidan, the next pure Acolyte..."_

"That's enough."

Aidan covered the ancient page with his bandaged hand. He didn't look Kynthia in the eye as he turned away toward his room.

"I don't want to hear… to know anymore right now."

After dragging his hand from the page, the bandaged warrior hobbled slowly into his room and disappeared around the corner. Kynthia sighed and quietly shut the tome. Closing her emerald eyes, Kynthia silently sat next to Aidan on his fur-covered ice slab and snaked an arm onto his tired back. She silently cursed herself; she could hardly heal his wounds, but she was becoming increasingly successful at reopening new ones…

* * *

><p>"Can't we stay just a little bit longer?" Sokka asked, gazing back at the shrinking Northern Water Tribe from Appa's saddle. For a moment, his eyes longingly lingered on the pale moon hanging in the morning sky and something in his chest glowed with warmth.<p>

"We really can't dawdle here any longer," Katara replied bluntly, turning her new amulet of Spirit Water in her hands, "Aang has to master Earthbending and we still haven't found a teacher. Plus, Pakku is leaving for the Southern Tribe so there's no reason for me to stay. I haven't got a master either."

"It's always about you guys…" Sokka grumbled to himself, tearing his sight away from the moon. He folded his arms across his chest and halfway glanced down at the frozen outskirts of the Tribe.

"Look!" Sokka exclaimed, pointing over the side of the saddle with wide, cerulean eyes.

In a rush of wind and flowing hair, the trio was clutching the saddle, curiously deciphering the odd sight below them.

* * *

><p>"Ok, now move forward and try to knock me off balance!"<p>

Aidan carefully paced backwards toward the Outer Wall of the Tribe, his Dai Li gauntlets of pure obsidian shining around his hands. Kynthia equally measured step with him, her Waterbending stance clearly on the attack. In an instant, Kynthia stepped forward, swinging her arms around her in large arc. Aidan's trained eyes immediately flicked to the swirling snow at his boots, but, when his sight returned to Kynthia, she had vanished into the abyss of the North. Heart pumping, Aidan swiftly spun aft, instinctively throwing his gauntlets up in front of him, but it was no use. With a grin and swift blow at his chest, Kynthia slammed Aidan to the ground, sending his armored body skidding across the tundra. She quickly ran over to him, laughing and threw out a helping hand.

"Got ya!" she yelled triumphantly, her visage positively beaming. But Aidan didn't make a move to grasp her hand. Her exstatic expression melted into one of curiousity.

"Are you with me, Aidan?"

"Yeah," he said, his silver eyes sharpened to the sky. Kynthia followed his gaze with her own.

"What do you see?"

"I… I _thought_ I saw a flying cow?" he said with heavy uncertainty, looking at Kynthia with a bemused grin. She leaned down and swiftly pulled him to his feet.

"I must have hit you harder than I thought. C'mon, we're nearly there."

Aidan watched her stomp off into the tundra toward the wall without even looking back. Smiling to himself, Aidan began to hike after her, wondering whether he had made this adventurous woman himself or if he had simply unlocked something that was always there.

* * *

><p>Review!<p> 


	10. The Escape

**A/N: Aaaaannndd... I'm back! One broken finger, a fledging relationship (with a closet Avatard), and tons of work can't stop me! I hope you enjoy this chapter; its a long time coming! I had a blast writing this because I can't wait for my characters to get back to the Earth Kingdom... the Northern Ice Shelf is very restricting on Aidan's combat style and just generally cannot support the descriptive environments I love writing about. **

**Thanks for the reviews while I was on hiatus! I appreciate them greatly and they motivated me to type with one hand!**

* * *

><p>"Ah…"<p>

Aidan and Kynthia shared a collective sigh as they melted into the hot spring bath. Kynthia flashed him a grin, hinting with a wink at the gawking patrons of the spring. Aidan glanced out of his peripherals: sure enough, each and every bather was staring at his unique tattoos… and multiple bruises. Training, for Kynthia anyway, had been going well, and a nice, warm bath was the perfect reward.

"As much as I like fighting and being an outlaw," Aidan said, sinking further down into the bath, "I can't really live without a few luxuries. I mean, when am I supposed to use all that bounty money?"

"Based off of what I've seen over the couple of weeks, you could use a few more camping… amenities, not to mention some cooking lessons."

"What are you talking about? My deer steaks are magnificent!" he fired back, smiling.

"Let's be honest," she grinned, rolling her head onto one shoulder to look at him, "it's the only thing you know how to do with food."

Aidan threw the back of his hand at the water, but before the wave could soak Kynthia, she had already frozen it into a sheet of ice. She watched it bobble in the hot bath for a few moments before turning back to Aidan.

"We're supposed to be undercover right now," she pointed out, "so why are we exposing ourselves out here in a public bath house? Anyone can walk through that door, Aidan."

Aidan yawned. They had entered the Tribe only days after the Avatar had driven the Fire Nation Fleet from its shore. The city was then still in a state of disarray: Bodies of soldiers littered the streets, hundreds of buildings had been destroyed, and the Tribe's senior princess had given up her life in order to replace the Moon Spirit. Everyone, from upper military brass to the lowliest peasant, was experiencing a wearily episode of confusion and panic as they struggled to comprehend how to rebuild their Tribe. Under this cloak of chaos, Aidan had convinced Kynthia to enter the Tribe incognito.

"We'll be fine; you worry too much," he said lazily, sinking into the pool so his mouth was covered. Kynthia rolled her brilliant green eyes and shook her head.

"Whatever, Aidan…"

* * *

><p>"General!" a masked Water Tribe soldier shouted, sprinting into enormous ornate chamber, "General, the targets have entered the city right under our nose!"<p>

The chamber was crawling with soldiers and the murmur that once held the frigid air ceased at the masked scout's shout. Nearly everyone turned and immediately ceased their investigations, curious at surprising update. The scout stopped with a skid of ice at the General's feet, throwing up a quick salute.

"General, the targets have ente-"

"I heard you!"

The grizzled, gray man stood hunched, frustration deep set into his visage. He slammed his fist onto the gigantic cube of obsidian that dominated the ornate chamber. The General stared down the glossy, black wall in front of his nose, lost in his thoughts, with large vein bulging in his temple.

"I thought I gave explicit instructions," he began in a quiet fury, increasing to a full blown shout, "that _no one was allowed past the Gates!_"

Snapping to attention, the masked soldier froze in place, unsure if the anger was directed at him or the general incompetence of the Tribe's domestic guard. The General pulled himself away from the obsidian puzzle and ran a scarred hand through his mane of grey hair. For a moment, he breathed deep and looked up at the masked soldier with his brilliant green eyes.

"Find them. Kill them both if they resist."

"But sir," the masked soldier said with an involuntary shutter, "your daughter…"

The General was an old man, but he was quick. In a split second, he had pulled the soldier down by the neck and hissed into the masked soldier's ear.

"If she's smart, she'll know what's best for her. If not, then she's useless to me as a daughter and as a weapon," he directed harshly, releasing him and pacing about the chamber, "He has poisoned her mind and I cannot risk her falling into the hands of my enemies. I have not come this far to lose it all!"

The General turned quickly and threw the messenger to the ground, who quickly scrambled out of the chamber and back toward the Tribe's Outer Walls. The General stood there in his quiet anger for a moment before whipping around at the gawking soldiers.

"BACK TO THE TRIBE! DOUBLE TIME!"

* * *

><p>"I'm going to get cleaned up," Kynthia said, shaking out her chestnut hair back at their rented room, "You mind staying around for a moment?"<p>

"Wait, wait," Aidan said with a grin, spinning Kynthia around, "Get cleaned up? We were at the bath _all day._"

"I know I'm slowly turning into you," she retorted, pushing him away with a grin, "but I still find the need for personal hygiene."

"Overrated."

Aidan smiled at her as she exited into her bedroom and bended a door ice behind her. He quickly found his clothing and armor, but held the latter in his hands. With a twinge of laziness, he threw his ragtag armor on his fur bed and donned his hooded clothing.

"I'm heading out!"

* * *

><p>Kynthia instantly let her wet hair fall past her shoulders as soon as she sensed Aidan leave the apartment. Quickly throwing on some Water Tribe clothes, she snaked up to her door, pressing her ear up to the cold ice.<p>

_Nothing._

She quietly placed her hand to the door and allowed it to steam away. Even though alone, Kynthia stealthily made her way into Aidan's room, her green eyes scanning for Aidan's rucksack. She knew it was close, somewhere in here, but Aidan wasn't one to leave something so important out in the open. The room was completely clean except for the pile of glinting obsidian atop the furs that lined his bed. Kynthia, with an eyebrow raised, picked up his broken armor and turned it over in her hands. It was hardly anything similar to what it had once been so many weeks ago. His armor then was complete and organized, now it was pieced and patch-worked together with its obsidian pieces shattered or entirely missing. Kynthia grimaced as she placed it back on the furs, knowing that's its damage was incurred solely in her defense.

For another full five minutes, Kynthia combed Aidan's room, but found nothing. With a disappointing sigh, she retreated back into her room to tie back her ponytail for the day and gather some money for the market. She quickly glanced at the mirror to check her hair, but in the instant that her eyes pulled away, she caught a glimpse of exactly what she was looking for.

_I don't know why I put up with him._

She flew over her fur-lined bed and snatched the ancient tome off of her icy nightstand. She couldn't believe it. Kynthia's thirst for knowledge had become nearly unbearable over the last few days; Borealan's last words had been on her mind constantly; sometimes her mind went into overdrive, subconsciously creating new pages in Borealan's journal that she hadn't read yet. In a way, it wasn't the discovery of new information that intrigued her; it was the confirmation of her suspensions that she hungered.

She creaked open the dusty pages and became lost in her wonder.

_So I took the boy under my care. I managed to secure a smuggler back to the Earth Kingdom and we arrived within days. _

_ He was a very unusual child. Very curious, but oddly hesitant to enter an unknown situation. I believe he had a strange mixture of his mother's boldness and his father's analytical insight. He was easy to take care of, even for an old man. Often, I would meditate and write in my garden and allow him to roam the surrounding forest on his own. Of course, I kept an eye on him, but I made sure to allow him to make mistakes and hurt himself. Such things will make him a better survivalist in future, that I am sure._

_ Aidan is truly a living blend of his parents. Once, I angered him by taking away a small toy of his; the resulting fit caused the earthy floor of my house to buckle and crack. I haven't witnessed it myself, but I suspect his mother's Firebending blood runs thick through his bloodstream as well._

_ I was immensely sad to see him go. He was still young, five years old if I had to guess, but I managed to track down his family. I sent him to his aunt's on a one way ticket into the Fire Nation. This was just recent and I am still, with much worry and anxiousness, waiting on world of safe passage from Aidan's escort._

_ But enough history, I must pass this message onto you, the reader._

_ By finding and unlocking my simple puzzle, I suspect you are either a fellow Acolyte, the Avatar (if you exist), or talented team of benders. This is a dying message from one Acolyte to another._

_ The governments of any nation are not to be trusted. No single nation is purely good and vice versa. Darkness lurks in all men's hearts; if you don't believe me, then you need to research world history. If you comb deep enough, you'll find that even the 'peaceful' Air Nomads waged wars of their own in order to gain territory and resources. The Water Tribes have been separate for years: How could one part of a nation completely abandon the other? The Earth Kingdom refuses to completely unite under one banner even against the threat that is the Fire Nation…_

_ Government and politics ruined Kavlak, my best friend in the world. We, together, could have accomplished so much together… We could have won the War… Ended the suffering._

_ They will try and find you. Run and hide and steal. _

Kynthia stopped, her gentle hand mindlessly touching the calligraphy on the crumbling page. Borealan's recollection did not stop here, but some mysterious force was preventing Kynthia from reading on. Her eyes suddenly felt heavy, the flowing characters began to blur, and the last sound Kynthia heard was Borealan's journal thumping to the icy floor from her limp hand.

* * *

><p>"I'm trying to say something with this, you know?"<p>

"Absolutely, sir. Do you wish to court this woman?"

Aidan eyes jumped and he emanated a small chuckle. The bearded, smiling man behind the jewelry counter gently moved the betrothal necklaces aside, reaching beneath the counter and withdrawing a rack full of various bracelets and armbands.

"I understand," the merchant said without a reply from Aidan, "To court a woman too early is a recipe for disaster. But many men your age come in here and swear they've found the woman of their dreams."

"I don't doubt it; the Water Tribe produce a fine, and ferocious, stock of women," Aidan said with a grin, looking the armbands over as the shopkeeper laughed.

Aidan reached for an interesting-looking armband, but his eyes flicked instinctively to the man's face. The merchant's eyes were suddenly focused beyond the icy door to his small shop, concerned and narrowed. Aidan's stomach lurched and he spun on the spot; the jewelry on the counter was sent crashing to the floor. Water Tribe soldiers shattered the outside wall of the shop, sending shards of ice into Aidan's unprotected arms. Steam filled the room and deathly shadows sulked into a circle around the recovering ranger. Aidan's silver eyes narrowed into the silent fog around him as he whipped the blood downwards from his bleeding forearms.

"What is it that you want with me?"

The soldiers refused to answer Aidan's call. As one, they drew their spears and braced them forward. The few Waterbenders in the party braced forward.

"I will warn you now: If you attack me, I will be forced to defend myself. You will not live to see the outside of this shop."

"Acolyte Aidan, you are under arrest for detaining the daughter of a Water Tribe Senior General and various other crimes against the Tribe," a Waterbending captain stoically stated, "Please come quietly."

Aidan's fingers danced over the hilt of his curved, black dagger and a cunning grin cut underneath his hood…

* * *

><p><em>Her emerald eyes snapped open and Kynthia's body arched, seemingly breathing in the first breath of the rest of her life. She gasped for a moment, her eyes watering, and struggled to comprehend where she was. This plane of existence was blank and boring; epic proportions of unobstructed whiteness dominated her blurred field of vision. In an effort to gain some reference, she glanced over her shoulder behind her, but found nothing.<em>

_ "Ah, yes, my replacement…"_

_ Kynthia whipped around, adrenaline racing. In a lightning fast strike, she seized the man's wrist and raced up his forearm, pinning his arm behind his back. It certainly did not last very long, to Kynthia's surprise; the man leapt with inhuman ease up and over Kynthia's shoulder and landed behind her. The man skillfully hooked his once pinned arm around Kynthia's neck and slammed her to the ground. _

_ Kynthia rolled on her side, her mouth silently gaping for the air that had been swept from her chest. Eyes tearing again, she coughed and hacked, heaving to bring the air back into her body._

_ "I see Acolyte Aidan needs to teach you a few more things."_

_ A strong arm hooked Kynthia's underarm and swiftly lifted her to her feet. _

_ The slightly blurred image of the tall, lean man filled her vision. His skin was wildly weathered and tan. Kynthia hazard guessed the man was in his late forties; a salt and pepper beard was cut short across his face. His brilliant blue eyes were charged like lightening, but behind their sharp, analyzing gaze laid a caring softness. The man placed an armored hand on Kynthia's shoulder and smiled._

_ "I believe you know who I am."_

_ Kynthia regained her breath, hacking a load of spit to the ground beside her. She roughly looked the man up and down, critically weighing out her guesses._

_ "You are certainly not how I imagined you… Borealan."_

_ "You're sharp."_

_ Borealan smiled again and drew his hand back. He paced away from Kynthia, staring off into the void as she tried to regain her composure._

_ "No, I definitely don't look like I did when I penned that last entry into my journal. This is how I always imagined myself; your appearance is of similar origin," he explained, "This place is my Spiritual realm to which you are always welcome."_

_ Kynthia's eyebrow raised and curiosity surged through her mind._

_ "Why am I here?"_

_ "Simple. You're meditating."_

_ "I don't meditate…" she mumbled to herself, but Borealan's ears perked at this sound and he looked over his shoulder._

_ "It comes naturally, sometimes unexpectedly. But I am glad you are here; I have watched you read my testament with untested vigor."_

_ Kynthia narrowed her eyes at the back of Borealan's silver mane of hair. _

_ "Your curiosity burns stronger than the fire that fuels Acolyte Aidan's soul. I find it admirable; my downfall can be directly attributed to my lack of concern for other Acolytes and their worldly affairs. If I had simply tried harder and been more proactive in maintaining the balance, I could have lived to see the end of the War…"_

_ Borealan stopped and turned to face Kynthia. His wild blue eyes now held a twinge of sadness and regret, and Kynthia felt her apprehension toward the late Acolyte melt away. Borealan must have sensed her guard fall; his electric eyes sharpened back to business._

_ "You need to understand a few things before you try a take on the world," he began, turning back around and waving his armored hand in front of him. A shadowy male figure appeared in a burst of smoke, but Kynthia couldn't distinguish who it was. _

_ "You've been blessed with a great gift. Two elements working together in harmony is something truly to be feared… and controlled," he explained. The shadowy figure's smoky guise shimmered and disappeared; Aidan, clear as day and armored from head to toe, stood braced in his battle stance, silver eyes shining underneath his pitch black hood. _

_ "Earth… the element of substance and support. Unyielding, powerful, deadly, but also immobile, overly headstrong, blind…"_

_ Aidan's image suddenly shifted forward, twisting his boots on the dusty earth. He stomped aggressively forward and threw his armored fist up and over his head, driving it deep into the earth. In a powerful display of bending, several pillars of jagged earth erupted in a straight line in front of Aidan's kneeling body._

_ "Fire… the element of life and passion. Aggressive, vicious, swift, but defenseless, rash, and bullish…"_

_ Aidan leapt upwards, kicking fire out from underneath his boots. He swiftly threw a flurry of fire blasts before leaping backwards, his eyes scanning the empty void. Suddenly, he quickly took two steps forward, jumped into the air, swinging his flaming boot upwards as he perfectly executed a skillful back flip. He landed with a solid thud, his silver eyes flicking over the void as the dust settled around him._

_ "But when the elements are combined, the bender can do extraordinary things…"_

_ Aidan spun low upon the ground, sweeping a crescent of fire low across the dirt, but Kynthia's gem-like eyes locked onto Aidan's dragging armored hand; a wave of curling white-hot magma rolled into his flared palm. It splashed and flicked up his forearm, singing his tattered clothes, but Aidan's face was dead set into stoic concentration. Exiting his spin, he swung his arm with the full force of his bodily momentum. The lava zipped through the air in the shape of a blade and sliced clean through a stone wall several feet away. Kynthia jumped, unprepared at Aidan's battle cry, as he sprinted off toward the barrier, teeth bared and eyes wild. With every thundering footstep, the ground beneath his boots instantly melted and ignited; the magma splashed up behind and around his heels, covering his calves in sliding red lava._

_ With another monstrous roar, Aidan smashed headstrong through the thick, stone wall. What didn't immediately crumble into dust and pebbles instantly pooled into puddles of glowing lava. Kynthia's eyes went wide in wonder; the dust clearing, Aidan's body was covered head to toe in magma, a web of crimson lines broken up by sheets of blackened crust. For a moment, he stood there, his featureless head scanning the surrounding area before he unnaturally froze. Within seconds, his figure disappeared like dust on the wind. Kynthia quickly turned to Borealan._

_ "That… that was incredible," she quietly exclaimed to the wise man, who silently agreed with a nod._

_ "True, very incredible," he said, pacing away from her, his hands behind his back, "But Acolyte Aidan is a calm and calculating Acolyte. He is highly self-regulatory and trains with fierce intensity, but it ultimately produces the discipline required to control his powers."_

_ "You would know," Kynthia said suddenly, her emerald eyes shining with delight, "What can we do? Air and water?"_

_ Borealan didn't say anything for a moment. His shoulders lowered and he turned his head, barely glancing at Kynthia._

_ "This," he said somberly, waving his hand forward, "is the destructive power of Air and Water…"_

_ The hope and anxiousness in Kynthia's stomach melted to floor as the smoky image materialized in front of her._

_ "Please!" Aidan's figure roared, his forearms soaked with blood and lined with surgical-like lacerations, "Calm down! Please, stop!"_

_ Around her, Borealan, and Aidan's figure revolved a colossal and fearsome winter storm unlike anything Kynthia had ever witnessed before. Piercing the animalistic clouds was a sharp, blue light, sourced from two glowing eyes raised ten or so feet above the icy tundra. They were narrowed in pure anger and hate; simply glancing at her doppelganger's eyes made Kynthia's stomach turn and fear. _

_ "That's… that's me," she whispered, "I never… never knew what I looked like that night…"_

_ Aidan's form continued to crumble in the snow and wind. Blood raced fast down his arms and face until, suddenly, Borealan stopped the horrific images with the wave of his hand._

_ "Truly, you know the destructive power of an Acolyte of Water and Air. Colossal storms, razor-like rain, roaring tornados… anything nature creates in weather you can easily imitate, amplify and guide," he gravely explained, turning around and gazing her eyes down, "But you require training. Otherwise, you will hurt someone you are close with… or worse."_

_ His electric eyes flicked to Aidan's cringing, bloodied figure and back to Kynthia. Kynthia nodded in understanding, and the smoky image of Aidan and her storm disappeared._

_ "Now," he said, his tone business-like, "there is something much more important we need to discuss regarding your father and your bloodline." _

_ He paused for a moment and Kynthia noticed him nervously turning his hands over in each other._

_ "Do you know the identity of your father's father?"_

_ Kynthia's eyebrow furrowed. Any time her grandfather was brought up in conversation with her older brothers, it had always been certain that the old Water Tribe warrior had passed away in naval battle near the Fire Nation's blockade. To be honest, Kynthia hadn't given the issue much thought; her grandparents had always been non-existent and her father had always avoided the topic._

_ "I thought not…" Borealan said quietly, placing an armored hand on her shoulder, "I knew who he was the first time I saw your eyes. His eyes. Emerald, sharp, piercing, determined…"_

_ Kynthia's mind fired with electricity, her eyes flew open wide. How could have she been so blind, so ignorant? The answer had been in her hands for the past few days and she had carelessly looked over it! She looked to Borealan, her green eyes pleading that she was wrong._

_ Borealan sighed. He gently squeezed her shoulder._

_ "It is true. You are the granddaughter of Kavlak, my best friend and worst enemy," he said gravely, "However, we must not worry about Kavlak; your father is the pressing issue at hand."_

_ "My dad?"_

_ "Yes," he replied quickly, suddenly looking around at the white abyss with wide eyes, "We are running out of time. Your father carries the same hunger for power that Kavlak abused. You have noticed this already, but I'm afraid you don't understand the scope of the situation. He used you as bait to find Aidan. You were used to find another Acolyte, another weapon, for him to add to his collecti-"_

_ A colossal boom rocked the realm, shaking Kynthia clear off her feet. She struggled to gather herself from the bare, white floor as boom after boom increased its assault against Borealan's dominion._

_ "What's happening? Borealan!" Kynthia yelled over top of the crashes, but a reply did not fall upon her ears. The shaking, white abyss filled Kynthia's frightened eyes, and, suddenly, there was nothing but enveloping black._

"Aaargh!"

A monstrous force thundered into Kynthia's bedroom and she awoke, icy blades instinctively, yet crudely solidified around her forearm. Eyes hazy, she lunged forward at the intruder, but strong hands caught her wrists and melted the ice down to her skin with a hiss.

"You're not armored? What have you been doing?" Aidan's voice roared with annoyed surprise.

"What's going on?" she yelled, overtop of the continuing booms and crashes that emanating from the outside of the icy inn. Aidan threw her wrists down.

Her vision began to clear, and a sinking sight met her sharpened eyes. Aidan was bloodied and beaten; a neat slit ran the edge of his cheekbone and the shaft of an arrow unnervingly protruded from his unarmored shoulder. Underneath his torn and stained hood, Aidan's silver eyes were wild with adrenaline; his body was doing all it could to block out the pain of battle.

"The Tribe, they've sent soldiers for you and I. They attacked me when I was out; I tried to lose them, but it seems like they already knew we were here!"

Another explosion rocked the tiny apartment. Kynthia flinched, but Aidan seized her shoulders, staining her skin with his blood.

"This is your choice. Make it quickly. You can run with me, or stay here, surrender and return to your family."

The second thundering crash caused parts of the apartment break and shatter upon the icy floor, but Kynthia did not cut Aidan's gaze. Stay and lose him, or run and become fugitives, partners in crime, together. Memories skipped through her mind like laughing school children: warm nights underneath the summer night sky; her ongoing, relentless, yet exhilarating training; the feeling of freedom and trust Aidan always had given her. He alone had witnessed her Awakening and controlled her when no one else could. Aidan had always been there: a protector, a mentor, a teacher. The look in his frantic eyes was tinted with a pleading gaze and suddenly Aidan's silent message dawned on her. It was time for Kynthia to _always be there._

"Let's get out of here."

Aidan grinned, but another explosion shook the room, reverting his mood to survival mode.

"Pile whatever you can into your bag, no time for armor! Hurry!" he shouted over top the assault, flinching as pieces of the ceiling crashed to the floor.

It was a blur. She began scooping whatever was in front of her into her bag. Kynthia stumbled clumsily around the room; the colossal booms shook the ground like an earthquake. Silently, she hoped she had gathered all of the important things: two sets of armor, Borealan's journal, and the measly remainder of their money.

"What's the plan?" she shouted to Aidan, who had his ear pressed up against the icy door.

Another blow rocketed against the exterior of the inn. Aidan jumped away from the door and accidently slammed into Kynthia. This was ludicrous; Kynthia could not believe the Tribemen's were destroying their own city just to get at the two of them.

"Well," Aidan said as he threw out a arm to catch her, "we're not going out the front."

He glanced over her head toward the far wall of the inn. His silver eyes narrowed.

"You think you could take that exterior wall down?"

"Please."

"Ok," he said with a grin, "We'll avoid them through the back and run toward the docks via rooftops. Get ready to bend some bridges and I'll hold up the rear. Sound good?"

A cracking blow rattled the room causing parts of the ceiling to fold and collapse to the inn's floor. Aidan quickly looked back at Kynthia.

"Time to go," Kynthia said quickly.

She flowed into a spin, building her momentum, and threw all of her force at the inn's outer wall. In an instant, a crack burst into the wall with the sound of gunshot and grew with its cackling laugh, forming a spider web of micro-fractures. Kynthia shifted again, slowly bringing both of her arms up and forward. With a sudden jolt, the fragmented wall crumbled and sunlight flooded the room's interior.

"Quickly, outside!"

Kynthia sprinted after Aidan's leaping form and dove through the jagged opening. A final, piercing blast rocked their apartment; its shockwave caught Kynthia unawares and she felt herself flying too fast, too far for the adjacent rooftop.

"Gotcha!"

She felt Aidan's hand snag the collar of her winter parka and suddenly she was lying on her back on an icy rooftop, coughing to regain her breath. Aidan seized her underneath one arm and swiftly pulled her to her feet.

"To the docks, now!" he shouted. He turned away and, with his good arm, fired a bolt of golden fire at their destroyed apartment. A few surprised, pained shouts emanated from the derelict structure.

Kynthia didn't even take the few moments to plan out a route. In an instant, she was sprinting in the blinding cityscape, swiftly sweeping her arms up and outwards to form rudimentary bridges and ledges. Behind her, she could hear Aidan's grunts and shouts and the heat from the constant blasts of fire bled through her parka hood and seared the back of her neck. Other than the crudely formed path to the docks, her mind was completely blank: form bridge, leap across rooftop, scan for enemies, repeat.

"I hope we're close, Kynthia!" Aidan roared, a tinge of unfamiliar fear in his voice.

She spun around and all the hope in her chest evaporated into nothingness. Hundreds of Water Tribe soldiers had joined the pursuit. Their dark grey forms crawled across the fire-blasted rooftops like angry army ants, each body flashing a glint of silver in the cold sunlight. Kynthia could feel their boot steps through the ice. Her heart sank like a rock: they were completely surrounded on top of this cramped rooftop.

"Aidan…" she began worriedly, drawing her dagger and going back-to-back with the poised Firebender. She felt him draw his bow and nock an earthy arrow, but he did not initially draw back the bowstring.

"Stay calm," he said quietly, "Wait for the officer…"

Kynthia's heart was anything but calm at the moment, but having Aidan at her back at least helped her clear her mind and remember her training.

The jingle of the soldiers' equipment grew increasing louder and louder until Kynthia found herself staring down a semi-circle of swords and spears. Many of the seasoned soldiers were stoic, unforgiving facades, but the greener recruits held an expression of confusion and conflict. Kynthia felt the same way: Why would the Tribe send its entire army after the two of us? Could Borealan's words already be realized in a physical form?

"The notorious Aidan and my daughter… what an unusual team…"

Kynthia's emerald eyes went wild in surprise and instinctively spun to face the sneering voice, but Aidan's strong forearm blocked her midsection and she stayed at his back.

"Yes, that dim look in your eyes… your mind is struggling to search, to reach for information concerning my identity… I'm sure you've only heard of me through her," the hooded officer said with a nod toward Kynthia, "and I imagine you already have a grudge against me."

"Ordering soldiers to arrest me in a crowded jewelry shop speaks louder about your character than anything Kynthia has told me."

Kynthia felt the air temperature drop a few degrees. The soldiers themselves seemed to become completely silent, and the only ambient sound on the rooftop was the whisking wind blowing past Kynthia's ears. All eyes were focused on the poised archer and the hooded general.

"What do you want with us?" Aidan interjected, anger and annoyance tainting his voice if even so slightly.

"Us? What is 'us'?" he asked with a mocking laugh, throwing his arms out and looking for an appeal out of his soldiers, "You have stolen my daughter away from me. I want her back, and I want you to pay for your crimes."

Aidan's eyes narrowed into silvery slits and Kynthia felt him widen his stance.

"You're lying."

The words escaped Kynthia's mouth before she knew what was happening. She slipped around Aidan's restricting arm to face her surprised father.

"I can tell; your last sentence, a complete lie," she stated blandly, "I've heard you use that tone a thousand times before…"

"You don't want _her _back; you want your weapon back."

Aidan's words sank like a dagger into the General's sneering façade. For a moment, Kynthia could tell he was thrown off balance by their comments, but then he reverted to a sinister growl.

"I see you've done a number on my daughter, Aidan," he noted insignificantly. He lowered his dark cerulean hood, revealing a mane of snow-burnt hair. His face was scarred and weathered from countless battles waged against the Fire Nation, but his piercing green eyes still carried energy and youth.

"But I wonder how much she knows about you? What have you told her, Aidan? That you are some righteous bounty hunter who has never hurt an innocent soul?" he asked mockingly, his eyes flicking to Kynthia, "Ah, yes, I can see it in her… You haven't exactly been honest, my dear boy."

Kynthia raised an eyebrow and slightly turned her head to catch Aidan's eye, but he was staring the General, his teeth gritted into a growl.

"Aidan, the bounty hunter… A likely story. Who is your biggest client, Aidan? Have you told her that? And who does that client hire you to catch and kill? If my memory does not fail me, I believe this is the first bounty you haven't outright killed."

"Aidan?" Kynthia asked, placing a hand on his shoulder to turn him, but he roughly shrugged it off.

"We need to focus and escape," he rapidly whispered, "Don't you see what he's doing? He's just stalling us!"

"You are a liar!" the General roared, throwing out an accusing finger, "You've been a Fire Nation assassin since you were of age! You've specifically targeted Waterbenders in an apparent Fire Nation campaign to rid the chance of another Avatar being born! It the sole reason you found my daughter!"

Aidan was silent for a moment. Kynthia could feel the air around him began to heat rapidly.

"Then how do you explain the Fire Nation patrol that nearly killed me?" Aidan asked through gritted teeth.

"Your rendezvous party to take my daughter back to the Fire Nation!" the General quickly fired back, but suddenly, and unnaturally, cut himself off.

In an instant, Aidan drew back his arrow and pointed it directly at the General. By pure instinct, Kynthia swiveled around to Aidan's back, her stance raised aggressively forward.

"You are right about one thing, General," Aidan began, "I am an assassin. I do take some contracts from the Fire Nation. I have seized Waterbenders before. But for all of your tact, you let something slip. How would you know about my rendezvous party and where we were planning on taking Kynthia? How did you find out top secret, high level information that was only exchanged in written, double-blind transaction from an unnamed Fire Nation agent to myself?"

Aidan's silver eyes shone down the shaft of his obsidian arrow. The soldiers, the village, everything was completely silent save for the whisking and constant arctic wind whipped Aidan's hood.

"I… I have a spy," the General began.

"No, General," Aidan growled, "You are the double agent. You have connections from your father, Kavlak. You are planning a coup of the Water Tribe and you will submit it to the Fire Nation's control!"

All of the soldiers, young or seasoned, were taken aback at Aidan's defiant accusation. Some literally stepped back, others gripped their pikes tighter and still others relaxed their Waterbending stances. Kynthia held her stance fast; Aidan had taught her never, ever let her guard down, no matter the situation.

"You lie!" the General roared, but his commanding façade was cracking. Kynthia could feel the morale dripping from the rooftop.

"I have served the Water Tribe my entire life! I have sacrificed so much for this day! I will not let you and my wayward daughter take it from me!"

The General garnished his intense shout with the drawing of his ornate sword and pointed it straight at Aidan's heart. Frenzied by the arctic wind, the General's stark white hair danced around his frantic, green eyes.

"Men, capture or kill the fugitives!

Aidan moved faster than a bolt of lightning. Before Kynthia even knew what was going on, the experienced archer had crouched, swiveled, and launched an arrow into a group of inexperienced soldiers directly over her head. The group of green men cowered and crumbled; Aidan vaulted over Kynthia's crouched form, digging a gloved hand into her cloak and roughly dragging her out of her surprised state.

"We're going, now! The docks!" Aidan shouted, throwing his bow over his back and simultaneously dodging a thrown spear, "C'mon!"

In the moments that followed, Kynthia could only hear the sound of her gasping breathes and only see Aidan's bloodied boots slipping across the rooftops. Something had planted itself in her back, near her left kidney. It was dull and hurt like a bruise with every staggering footstep, but Kynthia was running on pure adrenaline. Her tunnel vision, however, was extreme; the black corners of her sight threatened to close in completely, but Aidan's voice kept driving them back.

"Stay with me, Kynthia! We're almost there, c'mon!"

Flashes burnt themselves into Kynthia's eyes. Suddenly, Aidan's boots weren't skidding across hard ice any longer; the quick, methodic paces of his boots were booming on wooden planks. Aidan hand lost grip of her parka; Kynthia hit the floor hard, her strength completely sapped. There was a monstrous crash followed by Aidan's vicious, wolf-like growl.

"Leave this ship now or I will kill you all!"

Frantic boots thundered past Kynthia's slumped form, but Aidan's familiar heels came clicking into range. Kynthia felt her body hastily being propped up, but slow, gentle care was taken at her back.

"Kynthia, please, take this."

Kynthia just barely managed to open her eyes. Her sight was bobbing and there was seemingly no way to keep her neck from rolling over on its side. Aidan's glistening visage swept into her blurred view.

"Dagger, right hand. Pretend you're passed out. Slice whoever grabs you. Watch that door," he whispered with haste, "We are going to make it."

Kynthia tried to nod, to acknowledge, to signal Aidan, but it was all in vain. Aidan's hands gripped her shoulders tightly, and through her spotty vision, Kynthia could make out a mixed expression of panic and worry etched across his dirtied face. She weakly clung to the dagger and watched Aidan turn and sprint through the cabin's single, wooden door, slamming it behind him. The single candle that lit the dingy room flickered weakly. Shadows played like characters in Kynthia's disillusioned vision, but she could not even summon the energy to fight the hallucinations. She could feel the life leaking out of her body. This was not how it was supposed to happen. Not her in this ship's cabin, leaned in the corner, sitting on the floor like a torn sack of blooded flour. The dagger clinked to the floor. Kynthia let her head roll back and slam into the wooden wall.

It had been nearly one month. Twenty-six days, exactly. Kynthia had kept record in Borealan's journal, on the back cover. Twenty-six days since she was rescued from those pirates. Twenty-three days since Aidan had given her water and his trust. Twelve days since Aidan had defended her against the Warden and his men. Eight days from her Awakening…

And here she was. Back at that twenty-sixth day. Blankly staring up at the interior of shoddy ship, bloodied, surely dead, and totally helpless. She wanted to speak, to yell or scream. She wanted the world to know that she existed, that she died here in this ship; Kynthia wanted last words, but the poison seeping in her veins devilishly smiled and turned away her chance. A single, involuntary tear leaked out of her dry, green eyes.

Kynthia's eyelids rolled shut. The floor shook and shifted underneath her; the candle's dim light extinguish with a hiss. She slumped over, falling out of the corner and curled up, oddly comfortable on the half-rotten floor in her cold, bloodied parka.

The dark was familiar and deceptively loving.

* * *

><p><em>"Right there, see them?" Aidan asked, his arms wrapped around her waist. <em>

_ Kynthia grinned and nodded. The small, white speck in the deep blue sky was growing at an increasingly fast pace. She turned her head slightly and leaned ever-heavier into Aidan's chest. She felt like she could simply drift off into the blissful realm of sleep; the sun warmed her front side and Aidan's Firebending blood, as always, warmed her back. She felt him inhale the smell of her hair._

_ "I'll go get her," he said, "You stay here and greet them when they land."_

_ "I think I know how to be a good host, Aidan."_

_ He smiled, but rolled his eyes, and briskly walked back into their small Earth Kingdom villa. Kynthia threw up a wall of deflecting air as the bison landed._

_ "Kynthia!"_

_ A young woman clad in a deep, flowing blue dress nearly knocked Kynthia off her feet. She laughed in the woman's hair, squeezing her tight. They broke apart and Kynthia neared said something, but some other worldly force stopped her. The flowing breeze slowed and froze, the sun ducked behind a cloud, and suddenly the scene was melancholy and monochromatic._

_ "What's wrong?" the woman named Katara asked, leaning forward to place a caring hand on Kynthia shoulder, but she drew away._

_ "Who are you? What is that? Where am I?" Kynthia asked frantically, leaping backwards. Her hand instinctively went for the knife on her belt, but there was none to be found._

_ "Kynthia, it's us, your friends! Are you feeling okay?" the woman asked, stepping forward slowly._

_ "Stop right there," Kynthia yelled in a halfway attempt to draw Aidan from the villa, "Not a step closer! I'm a Waterbender, don't make me defend myself!"_

_ "Kynthia!" Katara yelled, now backing away, raising her hands up._

_ "Kynthia."_

_ Aidan had suddenly appeared in front of her, her wrists seized in his strong, gentle hands. She could have sworn she was standing only a moment ago, but Kynthia found herself flat out on her back._

_ "Aidan? What's going on?"_

* * *

><p>He grimaced slightly as he placed Kynthia's hands at her side. She was now motionless, having awakened only moments before in an ecstatic state. In that brief instant, she hadn't said a single word, but her emerald eyes shone with alarm and confusion. Aidan quickly calmed her, but still the concern remained. Convincing himself that he was helpless to help her dreams, Aidan gently pushed her flowing brown hair from her face and pulled the animal fur blanket a little higher on her form.<p>

_You need rest. That is all I can give._

With a grunt and rubbing his wound at his shoulder, Aidan slowly rose from the bed and slumped down to the floor, leaning against the tall, feather-down mattress. He was filthy, sore, and caked in the dried blood and charred dust of his former enemies. But, for now, that was behind him. Aidan closed his eyes, breathed deep and let his head fall back against the mattress.

Sleep had just nearly made its conquest when Kynthia groaned and shifted. Aidan would've hardly noticed it, but her hand swayed down from the mattress and rested right in knave of his neck. He weakly opened on eye, smiled, and allowed rocking sleep to take him away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Love me, hate me, review me!**


	11. The Training

Kynthia awoke to soothing sounds of chirping birds and gentle wind. The lush grass beneath her fur blanket was cool and smooth; the air itself was lukewarm and heavy like a blanket with humidity. Through blurry eyes, she could make out a ray of pink sunshine slicing its way into their stone shelter.

"Awake, finally," came Aidan's muffled voice from outside the structure. The hiss and sizzle of meat could be heard over the quiet crackle of the campfire.

Kynthia quickly found her clothes and dressed, making sure to line herself with what little armor they had. It was Aidan's new doctrine after the blunder at the Water Tribe: Armor always. She felt guilty every morning she donned the broken gear; Aidan wore nothing but scavenged clothes and an old olive green hooded cloak. But Kynthia couldn't protest or change Aidan's stance; she had just removed the bandages around her abdomen and back only a few days previous, and the pain of enduring such wounds was still fresh in her mind.

"There you go, Princess, breakfast."

Kynthia rolled her eyes, but smiled, and picked up her steaming bowl of eggs and bits of deer. Aidan's all-protein-all-the-time diet was paying off. No longer was Kynthia the slightly thin Water Tribe royalty that she once was. Her muscles were now entirely lean and toned and her golden sun-baked skin was thick and shone with health. Day after day, she could feel herself becoming quicker and more agile, as Aidan put her through test after test to gauge her dexterity.

_Keep this up and I might get some tattoos and a pair of silver eyes._

Kynthia instinctively began to blow on her food to cool it down, but an idea zipped across her mind. Pausing and then continuing cautiously, she held the bowl tight in her left hand and held her right palm up and in front of it. Ignoring Aidan's curious eyebrow, she breathed deep, closed her eyes, and slowly focused her Chi through her right arm. At first, she could feel the water in the humid air moving away from her hand, but this was not the result she wanted. Kynthia knew she was naturally locking her Chi in the element of water; no surprise, really, after countless hours of self-training back in the Water Tribe. She had to change gears in her mind and think differently about her Chi flow. Her emerald eyes sharpened on a point just beyond her right palm, right above the bowl of food.

"You have to-"

"I'm the Airbender here," she gritted through her teeth, clearly demanding silence. Aidan grinned and continued eating his breakfast.

Kynthia dug deep through her memories, trying to draw back the skills she had unwillingly deployed on Aidan.

_Ice. Blood. Razors. Screams. Yells. Fire. Golden Fire. Rage._

_ "KYNTHIA, PLEASE STOP!"_

_ "…Kynthia…"_

The memories overbearing, Kynthia had nearly quit when suddenly, it clicked; the Chi in her arm began to flow like a current. Out from her elbow, down the length of her forearm, out through the center of her palm before looping back into her shoulder. Amazed, Kynthia could almost _see_ the path in her mind. The air seemingly latched onto the flow, only releasing itself at her palm, propelling a gentle breeze forward.

_Amazing!_

"Aidan, look I'm-"

Kynthia haphazardly swiveled to face Aidan, simultaneously losing control of her Chi. A sudden jet of air blasted the bowl of food from Kynthia's grasp, spraying the helpless Earthbender with bits of breakfast.

"… airbending…"

"Congratulations, Kynthia," Aidan grumbled, smearing the food from his face and flicking some egg out of his hair, "You never cease to amaze…"

Kynthia smirked and emanated a small laugh, which was eventually echoed by Aidan. He began cleaning up their cooking set before looking over his shoulder at Kynthia.

"Well, today is the day."

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Kynthia asked immediately, an eyebrow raised.

"Training day. I'm going to teach you a few more things, things that only we should know."

"We?"

"Acolytes… and possibly the Avatar if he is clever."

Aidan stored the remaining cooking ware into their rucksack and stood up in front of Kynthia. She took his outstretched hand and pulled herself up.

"By the end of the day, you'll be able to Earthbend."

"Wait, what?" Kynthia exclaimed, "Aidan, I'm not the Avatar. You must have me mixed up with all of those other women you travel with."

Aidan laughed and turned away from Kynthia, facing an overhanging bluff across the creek from which they were camped. Chunks of majestic purple granite protruded from the bluff's face and long, leafy tendrils hung from its jagged edge. Kynthia guessed it was nearly thirty feet above the creek's water level.

"I want you to fall that bluff into the creek," he said confidently, placing his fingerless, gloved hands on his hips, "The _entire_ bluff."

"Well, how am I suppo-"

"You'll start with this," Aidan said quickly, stomping his boot the ground and catching a rectangular block of stone, "I want you to split it in half."

He tossed the block at Kynthia's feet. Apprehensively, she gazed at it, expecting the earth to shape-shift into something far more complex or attack her, but it simply did nothing. Aidan's expression was a mix of amusement and jest.

"It's just a block of stone. Split it in half with your Waterbending."

Kynthia nodded and narrowed her eyes. With perfect form, she drew a tendril of water from the nearby creek and quickly raced it around her torso. Kynthia flourished her wrists, contorting the water into a razor-thin ribbon, and slung it with a shove of her shoulder at the block. The incompressible water cut clean through the block; Kynthia grinned with satisfaction and achievement.

"There you go," Kynthia said. Her voice was laden with unintentional smugness, and, much to her despair, Aidan was keen to pick up on it.

"Okay, hot shot," he said with a grin, stomping his boot to the ground for a second time, "Do it again."

The block Aidan had bended this time was at least ten times bigger than the last. Its imposing dimensions made Kynthia question her bending prowess for a moment.

"Something wrong?" his voice teased beyond Kynthia's vision.

"No, I got this," Kynthia quickly fired back. Aidan smiled and raised a single, awaiting eyebrow.

With intense ferocity, Kynthia repeated her Waterbending technique perfectly. The ribbon of speeding liquid impacted the large block like a sword, shaking the ground and sending a small plume of dust into the air. Breathing heavily, Kynthia peered through the settling dust, hoping and praying that she sliced clean through this one as well. Her stomach dropped: the block stood resilient. A small wedge-shaped slice had been cut into the block's upper half.

"As I expected," Aidan said, then quickly adding, "Not to insult your Waterbending mastery, Kyn. I would have been amazed if you made it through a chunk of earth this large. It isn't an easy task."

"No joke…" Kynthia mumbled, slightly disheartened. She lowered out of her stance and walked over to the stone with Aidan.

"See here," Aidan noted, running his fingerless glove over the slit Kynthia had cut, "This is the key to pseudo-Earthbending. Do you know where I'm going with this?"

"Absolutely… not."

Aidan smiled understandingly and turned toward a large, natural slab of rock on the creek's shoreline. Kynthia knelt with him, their eyes resting on the large, jagged crack defacing an otherwise smooth, unbroken stone surface.

"How do you think this huge rock became broken up like this?" Aidan asked, his silver eyes clearly trying to dig information out of Kynthia's.

Kynthia examined the rock for a moment, but couldn't formulate why this happened. She had always simply accepted that rocks break from time to time; she was now cursing her ignorance.

"Well, I don't want you to hurt yourself thinking," Aidan said with a grin, earning himself a jab in the shoulder, "This deformation happened naturally with water."

He picked up a nearby stick and began pointing at the rock.

"At first, the rock was perfectly solid. The forces of Fire and Earth that created it left a product that did not contain a single blemish," Aidan explained, tapping the stick on the inside of the crack, "But somewhere along the way, the rock was scratched, chipped or otherwise damaged in a very minor and seemingly insignificant way."

"Just like the stone block…"

"Exactly," Aidan said. He made a fist and slammed it into the ground, bending a small, open cube shaped block of stone. Aidan set it on the ground between himself and Kynthia.

"Fill this up with water, right to the brim."

Kynthia did as she was told, gently flowing a tendril of creek water into the small block. After it was completely full, Aidan sealed the top of the block with a small plate of earth. He picked it up with his gloved hand and shook it next to his ear.

"See," he said, handing the block to Kynthia, "this cube is completely full of water. There isn't a single bubble of air in there."

Kynthia checked for herself and nodded in confirmation. Unsure of where he was going with this, Kynthia gently set the block down on the ground between the two of them.

"Kyn, I want you to freeze the water in the block. All of it, as fast as you can."

"Why woul-"

Aidan placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked right into his grinning, silvery eyes.

"Just trust me."

Kynthia nodded and took a quick breath, allowing Aidan to back away, and flashed a clenched fist. The water stole her Chi and solidified; a pistol-like crack rang out from whence they were sitting, causing Kynthia's ears to ring like mad and Aidan to throw up a shielding forearm. Wincing, she squinted down at the small block, sudden surprise and amazement filling her chest.

"Go on, pick it up," Aidan said with a smile, crossing his arms.

Kynthia didn't even need to touch the block to know what happened to it. She gathered the block of ice with the swipe of her hand and the two, now separate, pieces of the cube fell over in the dirt. Kynthia raised a surprised, but impressed eyebrow at Aidan.

"So, what happened?" Aidan asked her, gesturing down to the fragments.

Her emerald eyes narrowed into thin gems, shining as they absorbed as much information as they could. Kynthia knelt and gingerly pushed the pieces further apart with her knuckle.

"I froze the water inside the block. We know that the block didn't have any empty spaces," Kynthia said slowly, now standing and running a hand through her hair, "The ice…"

"Yes?" Aidan asked, grinning ear to ear at her mental struggle, but she was too focused to notice.

"…expanded inside the block, forcing the stone apart," Kynthia said, her tempo slowly picking up as her confidence grew, "Like a wedge! In nature, water freezes and thaws in the cracks of stone. It takes awhile, but eventually"

"This will happen!" they said in unison with Aidan's cackling following thereafter. Although taken aback, Kynthia put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes in his direction.

"What's so funny?"

He was doubled over laughing before he looked up at her with a sniff and another burst of chuckling.

"Your 'Aha!' face was priceless!"

Her nostrils flared and heat raced to her cheeks. Amongst Aidan's laughter, she could feel the partially sliced block mocking her Waterbending prowess. With a sudden roar and an unintentional flash of blue light, Kynthia jumped and spun her foot high in front of her, momentarily draining the small creek dry. The monstrous column of water raced around Kynthia's graceful falling body and flung itself toward the stalwart block of stone. Under Kynthia's stressed guidance, the tendril of water deepened the slit in the block after its first pass and then circled back, powerfully compressing itself in the thin crevasse.

"Now freeze it!" Aidan shouted.

Kynthia saw the scenery around her flash blue again. With both of her outstretched hands, she tightly clenched her fists and quickly reopened them twice. The ice crackled and popped and suddenly, out of nothing, the block exploded into two pieces, sending an echoing thunder over the countryside. As the cloud of dust settled in the cool afternoon air, a proud smile grew across Kynthia's face and she felt Aidan's heavy arm around her shoulders.

"Nice job, Kyn, that's what I'm talking about."

* * *

><p>A slim athletic figure pulled back on the reins of their ostrich horse. The well-trained beast stopped nearly without a sound, only sending gravel skidding across the deteriorating Earth Kingdom highway. The hooded spy gracefully and skillfully dismounted the steed. With a parting pet from a silky skin-tight glove, the ostrich horse's red eyes squinted almost in mutual understanding and the dark beast retreated into the cover of the inky black woodland.<p>

"There you are…" mumbled the stalker, the words muffled through a mask that covered the spy's face.

Within seconds, the eager agent crawled over a ledge and gazed down at the creek bed where a dying fire was weakly glowing. The expert spy could easily make out two figures lying on a recently collapsed cliff face. For a moment, the two blue eyes that peered out from the hood were temporary obscured by a lock of flaming red hair, which was hastily pulled back into the satin black hood.

* * *

><p>"Aidan, our fire is dying," Kynthia's muffled voice emanated from the hood of her worn Water Tribe parka. Her face was hidden from Aidan's view; puffs of ghastly white wisps exited the cerulean hood that stared up at the massive, clear night sky. With the flex of his fist, the fire reignited, but Aidan was careful to restrain himself. The fire's glow died to minimum. Kynthia shifted on the slab next to him, rolling up on her side.<p>

"What's the deal?"

"We don't need the fire that hot," Aidan justified, "and if it's that bright, it'll be hard to see anything."

Aidan smirked as she reluctantly acknowledged his wisdom, huffy lying back down on the cool slabs of purple granite. Each brilliant star in the sky softly sparkled with humble mysticism; the moonless night allowed each heavenly body to shine without polluting interference. The greatest body to own the sky was a colossal, golden paint stroke of stars that stretched clear across any mortal's field of vision. Aidan himself had seen it many times before, but, even now, it still managed to momentarily steal his breath away and made him feel insignificant and small before its massive grandeur.

"Hey," Aidan said quietly, still staring up at the stars, "You did a great job today. That wasn't easy… I honestly didn-"

"You didn't think I could do it?" Kynthia accused, her tone not at all what Aidan expected. He didn't even have time to look over before she had rounded on him. Her green eyes were lit up like the Northern Lights that had danced above the Tribe's cityscape. She seemed to be poised like an animal ready to pounce on its prey.

"Whoa, cool down, Kyn," Aidan quickly interjected, throwing up his gloved palms, "I was just trying to give you a compliment. You impressed me today, honest."

He tried flashing a reassuring smile, but Kynthia had already rolled her eyes and laid back down, her arms crossed. Aidan turned over on his elbow and looked down at her. She avoided his eyes.

"Kynthia, something's bothering you. You're touchy, on-edge. What's the deal?"

"I…" she started, but stopped herself with a growl, "It's not important, never mind."

"Convincing."

Aidan gave a small laugh, but, awkwardly, there was no return. He cleared his throat.

"I feel like you don't trust me enough with this training, Aidan," she said sternly, "We did one thing today. _One_. Do you think I'm incapable or inadequate for your 'lessons'?"

Her eyes continued to look off toward the horizon, but they softened with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Aidan," Kynthia said, opening her brilliant green eyes into his, "I just feel like I'm being held back. I taught myself everything I know; I can handle more. But, at the same time, I know you're my master now and I'm having a hard time adjusting… Does that make any sense?"

"Yes, Kynthia, I understand. Please know that everything I do, every exercise I encourage you to repeat, is all for the better. And you are always free to express any dissent with me. We are equals, always," Aidan said with finality, sitting up and folding his legs, "Here, sit up. I want to show you something; you've earned it."

Her eyes instantly lit like bright, emerald torches.

"What is it?"

He silently laughed to himself; her intense curiosity hung heavy in the chill night air. She quickly sat up and shifted over to him.

"Ok, now this going to sound weird," he began, unconsciously wincing as he continued, "but I need you to sit… with me."

"Sit with me?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow and laughing. This did not help Aidan at all. He lowered his eyes for moment before gazing back into her emerald ones.

"Just trust me," he said with a warm grin, illuminated by the glowing coals between them.

She lowered her eyes to the granite for a moment before cracking a small smile.

"Ok, I do," she said softly.

* * *

><p>Butterflies fluttered in Kynthia's stomach as she lowered herself into Aidan's lap. Almost embarrassed, she tried to shake the stupid, yet stubborn, smile from her face, but it was at no avail. Her face glowed red-hot in the cold, winter air. She prayed Aidan wouldn't notice. The sheer amount of heckling and jeering would be unbearable in the coming days of travel.<p>

_Well, at least he's behind me._

His body pressed up against her arching back; out of the corner of her eye, she could see the dark silhouette of his straight jaw line. Each wispy, white breath of his soared past her left ear and warmed her neck, running goosebumps down her spine. His chest burned like their campfire; glowingly warm and comforting but totally controlled. His bodily heat sunk deep past the lining of her parka, melting the initial tenseness of the situation. She exhaled a shaky breath, her sensory unit nearly overloaded with emotion.

Aidan reached out and snaked his fingers through hers. He snuggly gripped the back of her comparatively delicate hand and wrapped another hand directly over her stomach. He pulled her close to him; Kynthia felt her heart flutter, but she shook the feeling.

_C'mon, Kyn, focus!_

"I've seen you Waterbend. I've seen your Airbend. I've even taught you how to fake Earthbending," Aidan said, his silver eyes lost in the dying campfire, "That leaves one last thing for you to experience: the power and ferocity of Firebending."

Kynthia turned her head slightly to the left, toward Aidan. They were so close; she could feel the warmth radiating from his weathered visage. Down the length of her lean arm, Aidan held her hand outwards, facing it away from them as if it were a loaded flintlock pistol.

"This won't burn you and I promise you won't be scarred or harmed in any way," Aidan said cautiously, his silver eye narrowing, "But you can back out. I will never force anything of you."

Kynthia froze for a moment, but she eeked out a small nod.

"Yes, I want to feel it."

She felt Aidan's chest expand against her back before a breath of warmed air brushed past her right ear. In a blinding instant, she felt her Chi surge through her stomach and whip around her body at insane speed. It barbarically rampaged down the length of her arm and exploded through her palm, ripping the night scenery apart with a blast of golden light. But then, to Kynthia's wondrous surprise, the Chi returned. Splintered, fragmented, and shattered, it returned, looping back into her wrist and surging back toward her stomach. In the hushed silence afterwards, the entire experience was mind-blowing, and Kynthia had hardly seen a lick of flame.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, leaping to her feet, nearly ripping her hand out of Aidan's, "What- I-"

A blank, grey mental wall prevented her from spitting out any description of the event. Kynthia found herself dumbstruck, humorously stuck in a pose that screamed excitement. Aidan silently grinned from the ground before slowly standing up and gently placing his hands on her shoulders.

"I'll explain it to you, so don't hurt yourself trying to understand," he said, but at the sight of Kynthia's quickly insulted face, he rapidly added, "Your Chi doesn't behave like that. It is hard for anyone of understand an 'unnatural' state of bending."

"But my natural state of bending is Water," she replied, "My Airbending feels nothing like what just happened."

"You have to realize that you have two natural states of bending now," Aidan explained, "You're not an Airbender or a Waterbender; you are an Acolyte. The only reason you think that Water is your 'natural' element is because no one is around to train you in Airbending. Thus, it is lacking in discipline and to you it feels weak, underpowered, and alien."

Kynthia silently agreed with his wise words for a moment before cocking a smirk and raising an eyebrow.

"So, am I supposed to be calling you 'Sifu Aidan' now, oh wise one?"

He laughed and rolled his eyes, turning away from her and looking out across the creek, toward the rolling hills past the old Earth Kingdom highway.

"Kyn, whatever makes you happ-"

The immediate and stern silence chillingly cut through the warmth and crackle of the fire. Aidan's neck muscles twitched and tightened. With an instinctive lurch of her stomach, Kynthia instantly threw up her hood and clutched the hilt of her dagger. Aidan's hand curled into a fist and the fire quickly extinguished with a hiss, plunging their camp into opaque darkness. Kynthia held her breath, her ears straining to pick out a human sound amongst the various nocturnal Earth Kingdom fauna.

"We're moving into the city tonight," Aidan whispered, "Gather our things quickly; we travel light and silently."

Without objection, Kynthia deftly moved in the silence of the night, sweeping up their designated rucksack.

"Gaoling?" she asked back in hushed tones, quickly shoving their spartan possessions away, "I thought you said we avoid cities at all costs after the Tribe!"

"We're being spyed on," he said, glancing over his shoulder as he knelt beside her, "We need people to cover us up… for the time being. We use the countryside to avoid spies, but when they find us, we need cities to lose them."

Even through the inky black of night, Kynthia was able to flash him a skeptical look. He squeezed her shoulder, smiling.

"We'll lay low for a few days and be out, I promise."

"I'm holding you to that!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Happy New Year, guys! I toned it back in this chapter... all in preparation for the next one! Those readers that have sent me a few messages already (sort of) know what encounter I am planning with the (part of/ entire) Gaang****... I dropped a hint in this chapter...**

**What happens in Gaoling? Haha, I'll let you guys ponder in the meantime!  
><strong>

**Thanks for the reviews!**


	12. The Bandit

**A/N: Holy crap, Elite isn't permanently inactive! It's summertime (writing season) and I'm ready to kick out more of this story as soon as possible. I've kept you waiting long enough, get reading!**

* * *

><p>Chaos. Fire.<p>

The spy discretely pulled on her cowl as the stands around her scrambled and panicked. She wove through the crowd like a leaf on the wind and leapt stealthily into the arena's pit. With a quick roll and a leap, she peeked her flaming red hair and deep blue eyes over the floor of the platform.

Her target was saying something now, pointing at the group of guards that had stormed through the arena's main entrance. They slowly and cautiously began to surround the boy, but a loose arrow shattered the wavering silence. The Acolyte fell to a knee; his arm went limp and the tattoos on it flickered and disappeared.

After a second, his body erupted into golden, divine fire. The spy pulled away from the edge, an involuntary reflect from the blinding light. As she hung to the edge of the ring, she could feel the rock stressing and breaking across the platform.

Vision attuned, the spy cautiously pulled herself up over the floor of the platform, but the Acolyte was gone. A trail of golden fire and lava led out into the night beyond the stadium doors. The spy readjusted her cowl, drew her dagger and sprinted after her prey…

* * *

><p><em>Earlier that day…<em>

"Aidan," Kynthia's hand scraped the bottom of their nearly empty rucksack, "we're all out of supplies."

They smuggled themselves in right as the sun had broken over the small mountains around Gaoling. Between the two of them, they had just enough gold to rent a room at a small, rundown inn. Aidan had spent the last few hours sleeping on the old wooden floor of the inn while Kynthia had continued reanalyzing Borealan's journal.

"No food, no water, nothing," Kynthia said with a final sigh, "Aidan, we need money… or rather steal what we need."

Aidan was perched at the room's small window. It was a beautiful spring day outside and the bright sun had warmed the air to unseasonable temperatures. Kynthia guessed he was longingly looking down at the occasional passersby of Gaoling.

"No," Aidan said, turning around and meeting Kynthia's surprised eyes, "I will not steal from these people. They are honest men and women of the Earth Kingdom."

Kynthia flashed him a ridiculous look, but Aidan sternly returned it.

"I'm serious," he replied, "I've spent many years with these people. I cannot bring myself to bring them down any further than the Fire Nation already has."

"Well," Kynthia snapped impulsively, tossing the rucksack aside and throwing up her hands, "what do you suggest we do? Clearly, your morals are _too high_ to ever harm another human being."

It was instantaneous. The temperature in the room plummeted and Aidan slowly turned away from the window. The golden rays of sunlight that had pierced the small, dingy window retreated into the shadows before Aidan's stoic anger. Aidan's silvery eyes were sharpened like swords in the darkened room. Kynthia's stomach dropped like a bag of flour and she knew she had pushed Aidan's sleep-deprived, hunger-starved tolerance too far.

"Aidan, I'm sorr-"

"You crossed a line," he interrupted, his teeth bared like an animal, "I'll be back after dark. Try not to get yourself killed."

And with the swift flip of his hood, he strode past Kynthia without another look, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

><p>As soon as he set foot outside of the inn, Aidan's mood lifted into the beautiful spring sky. A warm breeze danced through his olive hood and caressed the back of his neck. Instantly, his ears were filled with sounds of the not-too-distant marketplace; children laughing and playing, merchants preaching their products, and the occasional authoritarian report of an Earth Kingdom Army recruiter making his rounds on the town's able-bodied men. Even though his outlash at Kynthia dampened his mood slightly, he couldn't help but grin as he squinted through the rays of the early morning sun.<p>

Even though Aidan found the ragtag shops and stalls charming, he somberly knew it was direct wear and tear the Hundred Year War had put on this town. Broken windows, unrepaired fences, crudely-patched walls adorned nearly every home and shop around him. Shoddy stone walls sadly crumbled into the street. The children wore clothing only above that of rags and nearly all of the townsfolk looked slightly thin. Yet Aidan could feel their spirit in the market's air: Hope, it seemed, was here to stay.

"Fresh meat! Fresh eggs! Come get your breakfast here!"

Aidan's stomach growled loudly; his gloves, clutched at his abdomen, did little to hide the sound from the elderly woman preaching nearby.

"I heard that," she smiled with a spark in her light blue eyes, "You can't hide that from my sharp senses!"

Aidan grinned and shifted over to the rickety breakfast bar. It looked like it had been built out of the surrounding rubble; blocks of misshapen stone were stacked haphazardly in four columns with a torn piece of olive cloth fluttering between them. Regardless, the bar was sound and the stool felt worn in with years of service.

"Pull back that hood and stay awhile! What can I get you, darling?" the elderly woman asked. Her voice rang with a country accent that Aidan had been absent from for far too long, and her hair was pulled back in a long, country-spun white ponytail.

"Give me the house special, beautiful," Aidan winked, flashing a kind smile and throwing down his hood.

"Oh goodness," the old women laughed, placing a hand upon her bosom, "You're talking to the wrong 'beautiful', young man. Ava!"

Aidan's eyes darted over the breakfast bar to the young woman behind the shack's grill. His eyes connected with hers right as she had spun around; dartingly, Aidan looked away, but not before he could catch a sign of blush upon the young woman's cheek.

"This is my granddaughter Ava," the elderly woman smiled, holding Ava's shoulders, "I think she'll be able to take care of you." And with a wide smile, Ava's grandmother swept back to the grill, leaving Ava awkwardly alone for a moment.

"So," she began, her apprehensive voice laden with the same country accent as her grandmother, "you're a traveler?"

"Some call me that."

"Where have you been?" she asked, an eyebrow raised over her deep, dark brown eyes.

Aidan's memory unexpectedly raced into overdrive: The frozen wastelands of the North, a destroyed Water Tribe inn, the rotting floor of their commandeered Tribe ship. Flashes of Earth Kingdom forest, the massive night sky, and crackling fires flickered like rapid shockwaves through Aidan's psyche. Peppered here and there were the faces of the fallen, the men and women he had heartlessly cut aside to fulfill his bounties in years past. Some screaming, some baring teeth, some crying, all holding fanatic fear as Aidan swept his blade across their body… But something began to warmly pulse and fight back the screams. The sound of _her_ laugh, _her_ voice and the smell of _her_ hair purged Aidan's mind.

"Are you okay?"

Ava's voice jumped Aidan out of his thoughts. He cleared his glassy eyes and found Ava leaning on the countertop, curiously examining him. He grinned.

"Just fine, but to answer your question, I've been everywhere you can imagine."

"Everywhere? I don't believe you."

"Ba Sing Se, Northern Water Tribe, Trav's Tavern, Thieves Landing, the Southern Bay, Kyoshi, Western Air Temple…"

"Fire Nation?" she asked, her tone changing. Aidan saw her eyes flick to his red, linear tattoo on his forearm. He shook his sleeve down.

"Captured," he lied. Aidan knocked the bar with his fist, using his Earthbending to slide a stone cup into his open hand. Ava's suspicious eyes let up with surprise, and Aidan could feel her apprehension evaporate away.

"Let me get you some water," she said with smile, twirling away from the bar and missing Aidan's sigh of relief.

She returned shortly with his meal, pulled up a stool and began to chat. Aidan sideways listened through bites of his surprisingly delicious breakfast: She and her grandmother had moved here only a few years ago after her father and grandfather went off to war. They had literally started with nothing. Poor to begin with, Ava worked up enough gold to purchase this lot in the market and her grandmother had scavenged anything she could in order to get a grill up and running. So far, they had made enough money to rent a room at a nearby inn and support themselves, but the newly imposed "War Taxes" had drained anything else dry.

"We've been doing the best we can," she sighed, sweeping Aidan's cleaned plate away and placing it into a nearby basket, "Anyway, that'll be 3 silver pieces."

Aidan plunged his hand into his cloak and his stomach lurched.

_Nothing! Kynthia probably has it!_

For a split second, there was an awkward moment where Aidan sheepishly looked up from Ava's outstretched palm to her eyes, but her visage instantly and stoically solidified.

"Gran," she called over her shoulder, not letting Aidan leave her sight, "the boy can't pay!"

"Whoa, hold on," Aidan said, leaping out of his stool, "Look I can get the mon-"

"DON'T YOU MOVE!" Ava's grandmother called, pointing a dirtied, bent spatula in his direction, "GUARDS!"

Conveniently, a nearby two-man patrol froze and turned, lowering their pikes at Aidan's back. Aidan froze with his hands in the air, and the cheery atmosphere of the market died away.

"What do you think you're doing, boy?" one of the guards asked, poking Aidan's lower back with the tip of his pike, "Stealing from these poor women… dishonorable. What would your family say?"

"He's not from around here, Sergeant," Ava said loudly, causing previously undisturbed passerbys to cease their activities, "Some traveler."

"Please, give me a moment to explain," Aidan said calmly, gazing over his left shoulder at the guards, "I promise I can make this up to them if you give me a chance."

The guard eyed Aidan behind his rough, grizzled beard before cautiously lowering his pike. His associate followed suit, but Aidan could sense that they were ready to react should Aidan pull some dubious move. Aidan looked back into Ava's eyes with sincerity.

"I'm going to need you to cover all of your equipment with cloth; it's about to get a little dusty."

"What'd he say?" Ava's grandmother asked loudly, still wiggling the old spatula in the ranger's direction.

"Gran," Ava said quietly, not breaking Aidan's gaze, "Let's do as he says. Help me cover the grill."

Aidan waited pertinently, hands behind his head, as Ava threw a grimy cloth over the grill, stowing what meager possessions they had underneath it. The guards were still close, clearly within Aidan's comfort zone, and a small, curious crowd had congealed, emitting a low rumble of gossip over the scene.

"You've got five minutes, stranger," the Sergeant growled, "Or we'll haul your hide away."

Aidan rolled his eyes.

"Ava," he called, "Can you and your grandmother leave the grill for a moment? I don't want you two to get in the way."

"Get in the way of what?" a young, but butch feminine voice mockingly asked from the crowd. Aidan ignored it.

"Gran, this way," Ava said, taking her grandmother's arm, but she ripped it away.

"I'm not that old, Ava. I can walk on my own!"

Aidan shared a quick grin with Ava as she trotted behind her grandmother to safety. Once they had positioned themselves safely within the crowd, Aidan unbuttoned his cloak and tossed it to the side, revealing his tan skin and rich, linear tattoos to the populace. Despite the gasps and whispers, Aidan focused and pulled his body into a stable Earthbender's stance. The sounds of the market slowly faded away and tranquility filled Aidan's senses.

Quickly, Aidan swept the haphazard columns of stacked stones away in a single brush and leapt forward, slamming his fist down onto the dusty earth. Six perfectly square columns erupted from the ground, arranged in a flawless hexagon shape. Some people in the crowd were clapping; Aidan's sharp ears could hear a baby laughing, but he pushed this distraction out of his mind. He refocused, breathed deep and slammed his fore-foot forward, simultaneously lifting the wall of earth with his clenched hands. Even with his muscles budging, the first wall of six rose rather quickly and Aidan repeated the same technique for the next four walls with increasing difficultly. After solidifying the fifth wall into place, Aidan exhaled and broke his stance, leaning down on his knees and watching beads of sweat roll off his nose onto the dusty road below.

"That's incredible!"

"Amazing! We need more of you around here!"

"Hey!"

Aidan looked up, still breathing heavily, to meet Ava's voice that he had picked out from the astonished crowd. She was clearly flabbergasted, nearly stumbling on her way up to him.

"You don't have to do this… this is too much… the guards already said you're clear to-"

"Ava," Aidan said, cutting her off and placing a hand on her shoulder, "It's nothing. After your life of hardship and uncertainty, a stranger giving you and your grandmother a favor is small act of Fate in the right direction. I am honored to help your family."

"But-" Ava began, but Aidan laughed.

"I'm not taking this down now!" he said, then gestured to Ava's grandmother, "Stay with her, I need some room."

The crowd backing away from Aidan's strained and glistening body, the powerful Earthbender stood strong, intently focused on the remaining wall. Aidan closed his eyes: He could envision the slab of earth breaking out of its eternal prison, throwing gravel and dust everywhere. It excited Aidan, the challenge and the risk of failure. His boots dug deep into the ground with the quick twist of his ankles. The earth shook and quaked underneath his wide stance as Aidan slowly lifted the mass of stone. Blood rushed fast into Aidan's face; his joints strained and cracked; the bulging muscles along the top of his back felt like they were about to tear themselves in two. Pain slowly threatened to clog Aidan's focus like viscous industrial sludge.

And then suddenly, the wall shot into the air and slammed into the structure's ceiling, anchoring itself perfectly on the building's foundation, completely without any extra effort from Aidan. His stomach dropped momentarily as he thought he saw a glint of gold fade away; he half expected the crowd to be gawking at him like some freak. His Acolyte powers were normally well-reserved and controlled, but its animalistic spirit would occasionally flare up under high-stress conditions. However, Aidan was unsure whether or not his powers had activated or rather something or _someone_ else had powerfully intervened.

But then the crowd cheered. Ava and her grandmother quickly squeezed Aidan tight around his sweaty abdomen, expressing thanks over and over as they jumped up and down. But Aidan couldn't focus on them or the praise.

_ Someone in that crowd helped me. Had to…_

Unconsciously throwing on his dusty cloak, Aidan broke free and wove into the crowd, his sharp eyes searching for any telltale sign of an Earthbender: Wide standing stance, mangled knuckles, general refusal to move body if at all possible and a healthy, omnipresent coating of dust and dirt.

_Nothing!_

The villagers quickly disbanded, having already been delayed from their daily routine by the impressive display of bending. The dispersing of the mob only discouraged Aidan from seeking the mysterious bender and, with an audible sigh, he gave up.

"With that attitude it doesn't surprise me you couldn't lift that little wall," a pugnacious, taunting voice chimed from a nearby, covered alley. Aidan perked up, the fires of retort quelled by his thirst for knowledge.

"People get so impressed by sissies nowadays," the voice mumbled thereafter, and Aidan saw the small figure kick a rock upon the street.

"Sissies? Little girl, you're talking some big game. What's your deal?" asked Aidan with a slight sneer. His eyebrows narrowed on the covered, dark alleyway.

"This 'little girl' saved your butt back there, Golden Boy. You should be singing me praises!"

Aidan had enough of this. Quickly checking for guards or snooping villagers, Aidan threw two fingers toward the girl and flashed a bolt of fire past her figure. She instinctively leapt back up against the dusty wall, but not before Aidan caught a glimpse of her.

Past her rough, bull-like bun of jet black hair, the girl's jade eyes flashed like fogged over crystals. Clearly blind, she was composed and completely coordinated. Her frame was wide, strong and supported, but, as an attribute to her age, she was barely half Aidan's height. Aidan couldn't help smiling at the character; she was a loaded pistol. A _very_ small pistol.

"Hey!" she yelled, facing Aidan with her heels dug into the earth, "How'd you do that? Who are you?"

"Do what?" Aidan jeered, grinning ear to ear.

"Firebend! Right there, I just felt it!"

"Little girl, you are so confused. I'm an Earthbender. Now where are your parents? I'm sure their getting worried that you're talking with strangers," Aidan patronized, adding to the girl's very visible frustration and slowly began to turn away.

"Prove it!"

Aidan's eyes flared as the girl deftly dropped into an unusual stance. He had seen it only once before, in an ancient Earthbending scroll, and Aidan was certain its practice had died out long after the first, blind Earthbending monks. The girl skillfully drew her bare foot across the dusty street and lashed out with one of her hands. A pillar rocketed out of the ground with unexpected speed; Aidan didn't even recognize that he had dodged it. Dropping out of adrenaline, Aidan sneered, spun and kicked the ground with the tip of his boot. A blunderbuss blast of fist sized rocks scattered toward the girl, but she calmly blocked them with her hand. They quivered slightly before, one by one, falling to the street from whence they came.

"You're good."

"Well, you're not bad, Golden Boy," the blind girl said with an approving smile. She folded her arms.

"Southern Mantis style? Not formally trained?" Aidan asked. Her jaded eyes lit up behind her jagged bangs.

"I'm the greatest bender in this city and I trained myself. Formal enough for me," she retorted, "And look who's talking? What are you, a Firebender gone Earth?"

"Something like that," Aidan brushed off, "Thanks for your help back there. What's your name?"

The girl froze for a moment before replying with a grin.

"Bandit."

Aidan raised an eyebrow.

"Convincing. Mine's Aidan… not Golden Boy."

Bandit folded her arms and blew her bangs from her face in apparent annoyance. Her jaded eyes snapped to Aidan's vacant purse.

"You're a little light on the coin," she said smugly, "But how would you like to help me out? You're a better bet than these other idiots in this town."

Aidan's first reaction was apprehension and before he could reply, the little girl quickly cut him off.

"Look, I feel you getting scared. You can't bend shops and houses every time you need a meal. How about you be a man and help me... Golden Boy."

She extended her rough, callused hand. Aidan stared her down for a moment before abandoning all caution and thus placing trust in this curious, little girl.

"Deal," Aidan said, matching her mischievous grin, and the two Earthbenders' hands came together in a burst of dry dust.

* * *

><p>The crowd's roar echoed throughout the empty, stone locker room. Although slightly muffled, its amplitude was still impressive after penetrating through several feet of bedrock. It became a soft of mind-numbing white noise similar to that of a rain shower underneath the canopy of the forest or ocean breakers crashing upon a seaside cliff. A slight sigh broke the ambience, originating from a lone figure resting on one of the locker room's many bland, stone benches.<p>

Head in his hands, Aidan rubbed his temples, his eyes closed. His tattered olive cloak was folded beside him; a singed, burnt white tank top stretched across his chest and bruised back. Boots unstrapped and thrown aside, Aidan methodically dug his toes into the stone, digging ten miniature trenches underneath the stone bench. He sighed again and opened his eyes, staring unfocused at the cuffs of his tan pants.

_Rig the largest bending competition in the Earth Kingdom… Earth Rumble VI…_

That was the plan, short and simple. Bandit wanted into the championship round and a little help was needed. The top contender, The Boulder, was on a weeklong hot streak and showed no signs of slowing down. The Bandit was in a separate bracket, otherwise, as she had reminded Aidan several times, she would deal with The Boulder herself. The Boulder would be impossible to knock out of the tournament completely… but if Aidan won their bracket, The Boulder would have to fight every single contender tomorrow in order to face the defending champion, The Blind Bandit.

Of course, this wasn't without compensation. The Bandit promised to take her daily winnings and split it with Aidan, summing over 200 gold Earth Kingdom pieces.

_Easily enough to support Kyn and I for months…_

The opportunity was too good to pass up. Plus, Aidan had been itching to release some frustration out on someone other than Kynthia. The sting of her comment still hung heavy on his conscious. He breathed in deep, closing his silvery eyes, and slowly exhaled, allowing his respite to echo in the barren, stone walls of the locker room. The silence was momentary as quick footsteps rapidly approached his position.

"Ah, there you are," Xin Fu growled, standing stalwart in the bended doorway, "You're up, Drifter. Three round fight against Boulder, now."

"Yes, sir!" Aidan mocked, eyeing Xin down. Aidan hardly knew him, but it was instant dislike from first sight.

"Just get out there and make those people give me their money."

Aidan stared him down as he left the locker room. Aidan threw off his tank top and quickly dug into the folded cloak at his side to retrieve a pitch black bandana. He hastily tied this around his face as he rounded the corner out of the locker room.

It hit Aidan like lightening. Xin Fu, ten or so meters ahead, bended a doorway into the ring with the stomp of his foot and the roar of the crowd came storming in. From both the intense light and sound, Aidan winced and threw up a forearm. He squinted into the blinding glare and slowly his vision began to adjust.

Aidan followed Xin Fu onto the platform. The stadium's stands revolved around him for meters into the air. A distinct, empty band of rows circled in the inner perimeter of the stands, absent to prevent injury to the notoriously ravenous Earth Rumble fans. Gigantic, glowing green crystals high above lit the stadium's floor.

"Citizens of Gaoling and the Earth Kingdom itself," Xin Fu announced from his high podium, "I bring you the final event of Day Five! The Boulder must defeat this last challenger in order to directly move into the championship ring!"

The crowd roared and Aidan could feel the vibrations in his feet. Across the platform, The Boulder relished in the praise. As he flexed his muscles to the crowd, Aidan caught a glimpse of his purple, badgermole tattoo slung across his back.

"Should our challenger, who calls himself Drifter, defeat The Boulder, he will be able to compete tomorrow in the final championship!"

The crowd apparently did not find Aidan's presence amusing. Aidan ignored the small rocks and slurs that were pelted in his direction.

"The Boulder agrees with his loyal fans and can't wait to… rock and roll over his opponent!" The Boulder wildly proclaimed, pointing a finger at Aidan.

"The Drifter wonders why The Boulder talks in such a self-conceited fashion," Aidan mocked without skipping a beat, behind his black bandana, "Probably because he uses every muscle but the one that matter most." Aidan grinned wildly underneath his bandana and tapped his temple with two of his fingers.

A few brave souls in the crowd chuckled, but the laughter was quick to die. The Boulder shifted into his stance and Aidan mirrored.

"Earthbenders… fight!" Xin Fu declared.

Xin Fu's falling hand slowed to a crawl as Aidan entered his familiar, comforting combat state of mind. Silvery eyes fixated, Aidan watched his opponent began to slowly shift forward, digging into the ring with the outside edge of his foot. The Boulder slowly pushed it forward and then, with surprising agility, to the side swiftly, slamming Aidan out of his premeditated trance with a block of earth to his ribs. Tears clouded Aidan's vision for a moment, but it was clear enough to see one thing: The Boulder was not intending to show-boat this round. Using the split second to shield his face and eyes, Aidan clenched his gut as another pillar rocked his torso and, consequently, sent him flying out of the ring.

The roar of the crowd exploded into his senses and his vision was still clouded with pain. He had landed in the stands amongst the fans, who viciously mocked and patronized him as Aidan struggled to regain his grounds. To be honest, he had not expected this level of skill out of someone whose sole purpose was to put on shows for a crowd. Popping his neck, Aidan jumped up, throwing the hecklers off of his battered body, and stared down his worthy opponent as the blood from his toothy grin soaked through his concealing bandana.

"The victor of the first round, the crowd favorite, The Boulder!" Xin Fu shouted, bending a small platform underneath The Boulder's feet. Aidan rolled his eyes and rolled his shoulder around in an attempt to ignore the dull, widespread pain that was set deep into his torso.

Aidan pulled himself back up onto the ring and shook the sweat from his hair. Focusing, Aidan's vision became narrowed and colorless; The Boulder stood alone at the end of a blackened plane of existence. Xin Fu yelled some showy gibberish that echoed incoherently and distortedly through Aidan's cleared mind. Behind narrowed, sharp blades of silver, the Acolyte's spirit was focused on one thing and one thing only: his enemy. The adrenaline in his arteries began to ramp up; Aidan squeezed his fists tight, bulging the veins in his forearm. His Acolyte spirit lashed and tore at its internal chains like a beast threatening to unleash itself at a moment's notice. Dull stripes of divine gold began to pulsate over his tattooed Chi lines…

Again, with surreal slowness, Xin Fu's hand swiped downwards. Instantly, Aidan dug his toes deep into the earth and pushed off with almost super-human fervor. The Boulder reacted quickly with skill, swiping his fist upwards and punching block after block of solid stone at Aidan's rolling and weaving figure. The Acolyte's mind cleanly calculated every evasive maneuver; spent chunks of stone were sent hurdling in every direction. The crowd's roar violently vamped louder and louder as the distance closed; Aidan's heart surged and pumped energy throughout his entire being. His breathing was rampant, fast, vicious; a familiar burning filled his lungs and his mind and suddenly-

The crowd was silent. Awaking, Aidan found himself with his glowing hand curled around The Boulder's neck. The arrogant showman now held fear and shock in his eyes; Aidan quickly noticed two spots of radiant gold reflecting out from his wide pupils. Shocked himself, Aidan pulled his hand away from the man's neck like reacting to hot pan. He fell to the ground in a pitiful slump.

Suddenly, the silence was broken with the rupturing of earth and Aidan instinctively peeled backwards to avoid a lethally launched boulder. He caught himself from stumbling and wheeled around to see his attacker. Xin Fu stood breathing heavily, glaring.

"Guards, control him!" he yelled, bringing up another boulder and kicking it in Aidan's direction. Instincts told Aidan to dodge and duck, but his Acoylte spirit refused.

Quickly solidifying his stance, Aidan reached out with both of his hands and swiftly slowed the boulder down in midflight. Then, with the same fluid motion, he launched his entire body behind it and forced it, with ten times the power, back at Xin Fu. His victim rolled away from the missile, but it wasn't fast enough. Aidan, with some degree of pleasure, watched Xin Fu's body tumble and skid off the side of his Earth Rumble ring.

"That's clear assault! Arrest him!"

The guard's shout brought Aidan back to the reality of the situation. The crowd now was in full panic; they commenced to flood out of the ring through any possible orifice. A large force of city and arena guards began to circle around Aidan, all with swords, spears, and bows drawn. Their nerves could be felt in the dusty air of the arena; a golden aura still persisted in around Aidan's vision. He raised a calming hand up.

"Pleas-"

A frightened guard let loose his arrow and, falling to a knee, Aidan felt the feeling out of his left arm vanish. His illuminated Chi lines flickered and died as his arm went limp. Nearly panicking, Aidan attempted to move his arm or hand… nothing. Aidan stared at it for a moment in shock before the anger began to rise like an erupting volcano. He snapped the shaft of the arrow off with his other hand and slowly rose his eyes to the guards. The golden aura at the edge of his vision threatened to take over completely and Aidan struggled to maintain cool control over his animalistic spirit.

"Leave or die where you stand."

A few of the greener guards were quick to take Aidan's offer. Their weapons hadn't even hit the arena's floor before they were rushing out with the crowd into the streets. The more grizzled guards didn't even flinch. Aidan had to momentarily admire their training before narrowing his eyes…

With a vicious yell, Aidan let the fire engulf his body and his vision boiled over in gold.

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><p>Lightening fractured the night sky, blinding Aidan's already smudged vision. His legs were in full sprint and screaming in pain. Someone was chasing him, but he didn't know who or even why. He just knew he had to run, sprint, hide, escape. Gold light rapidly splashed off of the soaked cobblestone alleyway. With a glance, Aidan involuntarily looked down at the Chi line along his forearm. Mysteriously no tattoo…<p>

Before Aidan could raise his eyes, he found himself flat on his back with the wind knocked clear out of him. The distinctive sounds of Fire Nation armor stomped their way over Aidan's body, roughly followed by a grasp around Aidan's collar. Aidan looked up into the grizzled soldier's face, splashed unnaturally with gold. Fear dug deep into Aidan's chest and heart; the soldier slowly raised back a charged fist.

"You sick abomination…"

Aidan closed his eyes, looked away and tried to pull himself away from the man's grasp. It was fruitless.

_Make it quick…_

The man's grasp went limp; Aidan slipped from his armored forearm and fell hard upon the street. The solder screamed something before a rush of wind deafened Aidan's ears. Disoriented, confused, Aidan scrambled underneath an abandoned street stall and skidded onto his back. The Fire Nation soldier yelled again and lit the alleyway up with a plume of flame, but it was quickly and easily dispersed by some invisible force. The soldier began to back away, throwing bolt after bolt down the dirty alleyway, until a tendril of water raced past the shop stall and slammed its way into the Fire Nation soldier's body. Slumped up against the wall, the soldier's armor was now crumpled like parchment; protruding icy spikes began to drip crimson from his chest.

Quickly, Aidan's savior rapidly approached. Aidan gingerly crawled out from under the shop stall and looked up into two electric blue orbs. A circlet of illuminated water wove its way around his savior's old, tired body. Weathered hands lifted Aidan up by his shoulders.

"I should have never left you."

* * *

><p>Aidan's head pounded. A high pitch ring chimed in his ears, nearly cutting out any sound from his surroundings. He weakly clawed at the filthy dirt underneath his broken body; his left hand felt alien, heavy. Aidan tried rolling over onto his back, but at the slightest twist, his ribs exploded in pain. Aidan let out an involuntary cry; it echoed like a canyon in the abandoned alleyway.<p>

The alleyway became silent. Aidan's ears searched for a sound. Nothing. Ambient noises from the street, the surrounding slums, everywhere seemed to fear and retreat from Aidan's broken body and withdraw back into the shadows. Frantically, Aidan's silver eyes scanned the half of the alleyway that his useless body would allow him to see. The inky, wet darkness of the corridor hid anything beyond a few feet. His heart threatened to explode from his throat.

Footsteps. Slow, methodical, trained footsteps. The intense pain prevented him from rolling over; Aidan's eye widened into a silvery mirror. A measured unsheathing of a blade quickened Aidan's pace. His right arm useless, Aidan slammed his left fist onto the ground and bended a sharp rock the size of his palm into his hand. He grimaced, but it was the best he had.

"The great and elusive Acolyte Aidan..." the muffled feminine voice played, "After years of searching and research, you were the one to defeat yourself. It was nice, really, I didn't have to risk a bloody encounter nor did I hurt any… innocents in the process."

She ended on a disturbingly sarcastic note. A leather-bound hand latched onto Aidan's shoulder and ripped his body over onto his back. The enormous shock of pain sent gold searing into his vision and another yell into the street. Both seemed to fade into the night without a second thought.

"I really thought you'd be a challenge over that girl, but," the assassin placed a knife up to Aidan's tense throat, "I guess I was wrong."

Aidan growled and spit a slug of congealed blood onto the assassin's cowl. She didn't even flinch.

"I never die," Aidan snarled defiantly.

The knife pierced his skin.

A gust of wind barreled down the alleyway and the knife was thrown to the side. Aidan winced in pain as his body was roughly thrown to the wayside underneath a destroyed vendor's stand. He peered up from its wreckage to see a heaving, tense form. Electric blue light pierced the inky black of the abandoned alleyway.

"Kyn?"

Her eyes shown with brief Acolyte fury, but they faded back to emerald green as soon as she saw him. Within seconds, she was under his shoulder.

"I should have never left you."

Her voice was choked and tears streamed down her dirtied face. She quickly wiped them away in the nook of Aidan's neck before trekking down the length of the alleyway. Fading fast, Aidan got one last look at her streaked, yet determined face before the pain began to overtake the adrenaline. The clutches of sleep pulled his conscious away…

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for all of the reviews. I appreciate each and every single one of them. Drop me a review if you so please and feel free to criticize/hate/love/tell-me-off-for-making-you-wait-so-long-for the chapter. Reader input makes me a better writer! Thanks!  
><strong>


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